


Pale

by Ipomia



Series: Twisted Fate [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Drug Use, F/F, Maxine "Max" Caulfield Still Has Powers, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 46,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24689647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ipomia/pseuds/Ipomia
Summary: Max felt destined to be with Chloe after saving her life in that bathroom, but at every turn, it seemed fate did everything it could to tear them apart. Now, a week after Chloe's funeral, Max realizes that she made the wrong choice. Is it possible for her to change her destiny with Chloe, or is fate truly insurmountable?
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Series: Twisted Fate [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871233
Comments: 119
Kudos: 139





	1. Where is the Edge?

Chapter 01: Where is the Edge?

Pulling a branch aside in the dim light of night, Max caught sight of it again. The sleek, ethereal doe stepped further down the forested path and out of sight. Max stayed still, her eyes lingered at the last spot she spied the deer leading her along in the dead of night. She didn't want to follow it. It was leading her _there_. The same place it _always_ led her. Ushered by an irresistible force, she stepped forward again.

_Please, just stop this!_

Stumbling into a clearing, an all-too-familiar barn came into view in the moonlight. A feeling of dread and doom swept over Max, bringing her to her knees. Memories flashed through her, flitting in from the darkest corners of her mind. "Stop it!" she cried out loud. When she opened her eyes, the deer appeared before her once more. And, just like that, all of her nightmares were banished, replaced with a soft dread as the deer again bounded away, compelling her to follow along.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Max asked as she began to sob. "Stop torturing me!" This time as the trees parted, she found herself at a place that had become so familiar. A graveyard. The deer bounded through the paths, coming to a stop before a modest tombstone. "I don't want to be here." Despite her protests, her feet continued to bring her after the deer. Just as she got close enough to reach out and touch the deer, it vanished into nothing, leaving the tombstone before her.

"Please… no," Max begged as her gaze fell upon the name: Chloe Price.

* * *

"Please… no." Max's eyes shot open as she drew a deep, sharp breath. "Not again," she muttered, wiping her wet eyes as she reached for her phone at her bedside. Picking it up, she read the time: 04:22. Throwing it back down, she reached for her journal, now pitifully devoid of fantastic time-bending entries and photos. She shuffled to a page she'd started the day after the funeral. It described a strange dream she had. But, the next night, she had it again, and again. And again.

Every night, between hellish nightmares of being held prisoner in the Dark Room and watching Chloe die over and over, she had the same dream. That ghostly doe led her through some significant place in her past during that magical, horrifying week. Then, without fail, it always brought her to Chloe's grave. Another bitter reminder of her failure. That all of her struggling, all of her power couldn't save the person she cared the most for in the world.

Unlike her nightmares, which left her waking up screaming, these dreams with the doe would only leave her feeling empty and sad. And it _always_ lingered. At least the nightmares would start to ebb away in minutes. These dreams with the doe were more like her visions of the tornado. Only instead of giving her a glimpse into the future, they bound her to a single moment in the past. Not a moment. A week. The best, worst week of her life.

Almost mechanically, she recorded in her diary what was different this time. As if collecting all the different routes would somehow lead her to discover some hidden meaning in the recurring dream. More and more it just felt like the meaning was that she was a piece of shit who let Chloe die.

It was official. Today marked a week since Chloe was laid to rest. A full week since the funeral. And damn if it didn't hurt every bit as much as that day. Grabbing her pillow and pulling it to her chest, she buried her face in it as she cried.

After a good, long cry, Max shuffled out of bed. She felt like a zombie. Just shambling forward without thought or purpose, and so completely drained. A glance over at her mirror showed her a bleary-eyed monster. A traitor that gave up on the best thing in this world she would ever have. Chloe wasn't the only one that bullet killed.

_Rest in peace, Max Caulfield._

The very thought made her stomach turn as a desperate Kate falling from the school's roof flashed through her mind's eye. Was it selfish of her to stop Kate? Not that it really mattered anymore. That never happened.

Fleeing from the reflection that tormented her so with its cowardly gaze, she threw on some clothes and slipped into her shoes. It wasn't like she was going to get back to bed, anyway. Some fresh air might clear her head, or at least distract her a little bit from her own, toxic thoughts.

One good thing about five in the morning, even the most hardcore of partiers and delinquents had already snuck back in for a quick crash before sleeping through half their classes. At the other end of the spectrum, even the earliest of risers were only starting to stir. They wouldn't step out of their rooms for some time. It allowed Max a respite not given to her when the halls stirred with life.

Every familiar face taunted her. Dozens of interactions that never happened, or maybe they did. Secrets she shouldn't know. Fates that never happened.

Deaths she caused.

* * *

Exiting the dorms into the predawn light, Max shuffled along aimlessly. Her discerning eye ignored the beauty around her. She didn't even bring her camera… not that she had brought it anywhere. Not since Chloe and the week that never happened. Instead, her thoughts stayed trapped on the treadmill of guilt and despair.

Save her whole world, or annihilate her hometown with all of her friends in it. What kind of fucking choice was that?

Max could never live with that blood on her hands.

Chloe would rather die than to have Max go through that.

It was the right choice.

It was the _only_ choice.

So, then, why did she regret it so? It haunted her more than a thousand innocent souls flayed on the razor winds of a time-storm. No one deserved to die. Not Rachel, and definitely not Chloe.

Breathing a ragged breath in and out, she felt the familiar warmth of tears streaming down her face. "I'm so sorry, Chloe. I'm sorry." Finding the nearest spot, the wall around the parking lot, she sat down and buried her face in her hands.

"You look like shit, girlie," a familiar, gruff voice called Max's attention to a shadowed figure accented by the bright red glow of a cigarette.

Sniffling, Max swiped her cheeks and eyes in an attempt to clean herself up. Why, she couldn't say. What did she care what she looked like? "I feel like shit."

"I've seen you around, haven't I?"

The figure stepped forward, close enough for the shitty parking lot lights to show Max his face. It was Frank. His RV was parked just a stone's throw away. How had she not noticed that? Max bit her tongue, suppressing the desire to snark at him that he'd seen her more than he knew.

Frank threw the cigarette on the ground and stomped on it before pointing at Max. "Yeah, you're the fucking girl from the paper. The one that saw Chloe Price get shot and didn't fucking do shit to help her."

"You don't get to say that!" Max yelled, her emotions rising like a tsunami. She jumped down, pointing her own finger back at Frank. "Fucking no one gets to say that to me! I moved heaven and earth to save her! I did everything! I tried… everything…" Just like that, her rage ran out of steam, crushed under her sorrow and regret. Tears streaked down anew. "I just… I couldn't save her."

_I let her die._

Max fell to her knees, the stinging pain of hitting the blacktop barely registering. "You're right…" Her palms slapped the ground, followed by her elbows. Hot tears splattered down. "I can't take it back… Not this time."

"Shit. Just how fucked are you?" Frank replied. "Look, I just… You were there, right? You saw that Prescott shit pull the trigger?"

"Yeah," Max choked out. Calming her tears just a bit, she struggled to sit back up, resting on her heels so she could see Frank.

"Little fuckin' prick," Frank muttered, taking a few steps away from her, before doubling back, again pointing at her. "Okay, so do you know what the fuck his connection was to Rachel? And what did Jefferson have to do with it? The goddamn news ain't sayin' shit about it."

Swiping again at her eyes, she shook her head. "I know. But I… The truth isn't … good. Maybe you should sit down." This was a conversation she'd had before, more or less. But that didn't mean that Frank didn't need to know. He deserved to know.

Frank stepped over. Even in the dim light, Max could see a small, hopeful look in his eye. "You really know everything?" He extended his hand, offering to help Max to her feet.

The helpless feeling of being drugged and bound and the sounds of a camera shutter bubbled up from the depths of her mind. "More than I ever wanted," Max replied, taking his hand and letting him roughly yank her to her feet.

Frank turned around, waving after Max. "Come on." He led Max over to his RV before unlocking the door and stepping up. He held the door open, just waiting for her to follow him inside.

At first Max was taken aback at how easily he was letting her into his domain. But when she thought about it, it made sense. Frank cared for Rachel more than anyone. Well, maybe anyone but Chloe. Of course he'd do whatever it took to find out more.

As soon as she stepped in, Frank thunked the door shut behind her, the lock audibly clicking. Instinctively, she reached out her hand, the threads of time splitting around her fingers.

Frank stepped by.

Max let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She should've known better. She _knew_ Frank better. There was a good heart buried deep inside him. Well, "good" might be a stretch, but it wasn't like he was fucking Jefferson.

Another noise brought Max back to reality. He had adjusted the passenger seat to face the driver's seat. He motioned to it as he squeezed by in the narrow space. "Sit."

Max obliged, her gaze lingering on the driver's seat. Imagining a blue-haired angel behind the wheel. She'd give anything to take that road trip with Chloe.

A swirling vortex of death cut through her rosy reverie.

_Almost anything._

Her arms wrapped around her stomach, trying to ease the violent churning within.

_Is this what it was like for Chloe? Imagining some happily ever after she knew would never come?_

"Want a beer?" Frank asked as he opened his fridge.

"I don't drink," Max replied, a bit too quickly. Her hand trailed up to her neck, pressing against an invisible needle-stick. "Bad experience."

"Probably better off. Only got piss left." Frank trailed back over, a can of beer in one hand, a soda in the other. He handed Max the soda before yanking up the chair at the table and setting it down behind the driver's seat. "Name's Frank, by the way," he introduced himself as he sat down, cracking open his beer.

"Max," she replied, it barely registering with her that they had never actually met in this reality. She opened her own drink, taking a sip of the syrupy, sweet beverage.

"You know, Max, every spoiled Blackwell dipshit I've talked to said they didn't know shit about what happened to Rachel." He held out his beer, pointing a finger at Max. "You better not be bullshitting me."

Max shook her head, her gaze falling to the can as she lowered it to her lap. "You deserve to know. I know how much you cared for her."

"The fuck would you know about that?"

_Shit._

"I just… I mean, she meant so much to so many people at Blackwell. All over Arcadia Bay. I wish… I wish I could've met her."

Frank took a long swig, eyeing Max. He sighed. "You missed out."

Twisting the can in her hands, Max searched for the right words. It was so hard without cheating. "I… can tell you whatever you want to know, but… but I know you won't like what you hear."

"We're talking about Rachel's fucking death. Of fucking course I ain't gonna like it."

Max again found her soda can the most interesting thing in the world. "What do you want to know?"

"Shit," Frank muttered, sitting back in the chair. "She never left Arcadia Bay. So she… she died when she disappeared."

"Yeah," Max replied. She glanced over to find Frank staring hard at her. It was clear he wanted more details than that. Was he testing her? Max cleared her throat. "She… Rachel was abducted by Nathan Prescott."

Frank shot to his feet. "So it was that fucking rich shit! Motherfucker!"

"He was a puppet," Max said. "Mark Jefferson's little scapegoat." Her stomach turned. The bastard's name bit her tongue like a bitter poison. She took a drink, but it did little to wash away the venom.

"So it was that Jefferson douchebag? I saw he got arrested, but fucking no one has said shit about what." Frank sat back down.

"He used Nathan," Max said. "Because he was easy to manipulate. Because he had access to a fortune."

Throwing back the rest of the beer, he crushed the can in his hand. "What the fuck did he—did they—do to Rachel?" He tossed the can at the trash, not even caring that he missed.

Max felt her throat burning, and the sugary drink couldn't do anything to quell the fire. "Jefferson… he used Nathan to get access to a bunker under an old barn. The Dark Room." If Jefferson's name was poison, then saying that place's name was boiling acid. For a moment, Max actually wished her drink was a bit stronger. "That psychopath… he drugged girls, taking photos of them while they were sedated. If he thought they might… remember, might be a liability—" Max looked up, finally making eye contact with Frank "—he got rid of them."

Frank was shaking. "He did that… to Rachel?"

Max nodded. "Nathan wanted to impress him. He… Nathan killed Rachel."

"God damn it," Frank ground out. "I knew it was him. The day he's arrested and Rachel's body turns up? No fucking way it was a coincidence."

_Maybe he won't ask how, this time._

"Max," he leaned in, resting an arm on his leg. "Do you know… do you know how she died?"

_Fuck._

"They were using some drug to sedate the girls. Nathan overdosed her."

Frank's eyes went wide as he slapped a hand against his mouth. He leaned back. This time, he didn't mention his fault out loud. He blamed himself, sure, but he couldn't just tell some girl he just met that he was the local drug hookup. But Max could see it in his eyes, the hurt. The pain.

For a moment, Max felt like maybe this flunkie drug dealer was the only person in the world who had an inkling as to how she felt. She reached out, leaning over to put a hand on his knee. "I'm sorry. It hurts, I know."

He slapped her hand away. "The fuck do you know? How… how the hell would you even know all this shit, anyway? Bullshit the cops told you all that. You're just fucking with me!"

Max's mind raced. She couldn't just tell him that she learned every gruesome detail in an alternate reality that no longer even existed. To buy time, she turned her drink up, gulping down the remainder. "I…" she got up and placed the drink in the trash, right next to the door.

_Why lie?_

Keeping her back to Frank, she reached out and placed a hand on the door handle. "What?" she said her voice low and somber. "You think Rachel and Kate were the only ones to be taken to the Dark Room? Unlike the rest… I remember. I remember _everything_."

Unable to stand it for another second, she flung the door open and stepped out. She could hear Frank yelling after her, but he didn't give chase. Though her heart pumped hard enough for it to sound in her ears, Max only made deliberate steps. She wouldn't run away. After several seconds, it became clear that Frank had no desire to give pursuit. Good. Maybe now he could start to repent and maybe, just maybe, stop being a lowlife drug dealer.

He should be so lucky. Not everyone got that chance. Chloe would never get a chance to get on the right path. Silently cursing, Max swiped again at her wet eyes. As she stumbled her way back toward the dorms, she felt the first rays of dawn warm her skin.

Despite how fucked up it was talking to Frank about that all over again, despite how unpleasant all those stirred up memories were, despite _everything_ , it was still… kind of nice to actually talk to someone like that. A week had gone by, and she'd barely spoken to anyone. She even blew off her parents and Warren and Kate. They didn't deserve the cold shoulder like that, but for the longest time, Max imagined that talking about it was the last thing she needed. Maybe… it was just what her tumultuous heart needed?

Max reached for her phone, only to discover it wasn't there. She'd left her whole bag in her room. It didn't really matter, she was already back by the dorms, anyway. Her eyes traced the face of the building up to the roof. Her stomach turned, imagining Kate as she fell.

_She never even tried to jump in this reality. But all that fucked up shit still happened to her._

Even though she went the extra mile, tried to support Kate as best she could, she came so close to not talking her down from the roof. In this reality, she only talked to Kate a little at the funeral. Or at least what she could remember, anyway. There was almost a whole week missing. The week that never was.

Tearing her sight away, she found Tobanga in the corner of her eye, just staring at her.

_I know I screwed up. You don't have to be so judgy._

She looked down at her hand. It seemed so ordinary, but the power within… it was still there. The power to twist time. The power to save Chloe. The power to seal her fate. The power to destroy all of Arcadia Bay.

_Never again._

_**Why?** _

"What?" Max muttered aloud. Looking all around she found no one. "Who said that?" she said, louder this time as she spun around to make sure nobody was behind her.

Max prayed it was her imagination. She'd had more than her fair share of mind fucks recently. Just to be sure, she tapped her fingers beneath her nose. They came back dry and unbloodied. Hunching her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around herself, she picked up her pace toward the dorms.


	2. End of the Dream

Max walked back through the dorms. The sparing silence long since gave way to the sounds of people getting ready for classes. They were getting along in their perfectly normal, everyday lives. Like Chloe hadn't just been put to rest a week ago. Like everything was just fine. _Nothing_ was fine.

And of course, Max got everyone's attention, walking down the hall in yesterday's clothes. She kept her head low and tried her best to keep out the jeering quips about her sneaking out. Max's pace picked up at each jab as her arms wrapped tighter around herself. But, as she neared her sanctuary, a different sound stopped her dead in her tracks. It was the warm, soothing sounds of Kate's violin. Max stopped, right in front of Kate's door. For a split-second, the smooth sound skipped, accompanied by a vision of Kate out on the ledge. But, as quickly as the flashback occurred, it vanished.

_She still went through all that hell._

Of course, being the chicken shit she was, Max's first instinct was to just go to her room and text Kate. That would've been so much easier. But she couldn't do that to Kate. Didn't Kate deserve an actual conversation like a normal human being? Besides, Max sucked at texts every bit as much as real conversations, anyway. She'd probably not even text Kate at all if she made it back to her own room.

Max held out her hand, just wishing she could do both and pick the one she liked best. Who was she kidding? She'd have the confidence to waltz right in there knowing that the conversation would always turn up in her favor. And even if it didn't, well, then it never happened, right? Easy peasy.

Her hubris melted away as a tightness formed in her chest, making it impossible to breathe. Max saw Kate, kneeling over her own memorial. Max could feel Kate's anger. Her hate! Then, Kate was on the roof again, standing on the ledge. Max reached out to pull Kate back, but her rewind wouldn't work. Kate jumped!

"No!"

Max panted for air, not even knowing how long she'd been holding her breath. Everyone's eyes were on her, and she realized that she just yelled that out loud to a door. Max's whole body felt like it was on fire and no matter how much she tried, she just couldn't seem to catch her breath. She peeled her eyes back to her room, feeling a powerful urge to flee there, shut the door, and never come out.

_No._

Kate needed her. No more cheating. No more running away. Max rapped on the door with one hand as she pulled on the handle with the other. It gave right away, and Max stepped into Kate's room.

"Max!" Kate greeted as she set her violin aside. This early in the morning and Kate was already set to go for the day. Even her hair was made up. And Max hadn't even had a shower, yet.

"H-hey, Kate," Max replied as she pulled the door shut behind her. Her free hand swept by her bangs, as she wondered just how much a disheveled mess she must've looked like. Probably smelled like weed and booze thanks to her time in that RV, too. At least Kate's room… was Kate's room. Not that gloomy hole she remembered from… from the week that never happened. "I just…" She drew an arm around herself as her gaze fell away before the bright face of her friend. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"Max, you don't have _anything_ to apologize for," Kate said, rushing up to Max. She grabbed Max's hand, pulling her over to the couch. Letting go, Kate sat down before patting the spot next to her.

Giving in to the pressure, she sat next to Kate. "But I do. I…" She held out her arm, before mentally reprimanding herself and pulling it back in.

_When will I stop trying to cheat?_

_**Don't.** _

Max's head snapped to the side, looking directly at Kate. "Did… did you just say something?"

Kate shook her head. "No, I was waiting for you, Max. It seems like you have something really important you need to say." She reached out, placing a hand on Max's shoulder. "It's okay if you need to take your time. I'm here for you."

"No… that's not—" Max shook her head. "I'm supposed to be the one here comforting you."

A lighthearted chuckle escaped from Kate as she gave Max's shoulder a squeeze. "Max, I'm… I'll be fine. I have my faith, my family, and my friends to give me all the strength I need. Friends like you."

_Does everyone end up better off? Everyone but me? Chloe…_

Hunching over, Max swiped at tears that threatened to fall. "I-I should've known. You're _so_ strong, Kate."

Kate's hand moved to Max's back, slowly rubbing back and forth in a comforting motion. "I'm only as strong as those who let me borrow their strength. Please, Max, don't shut out those around you that want to help. We all know you're hurting right now. We want to help you."

"This isn't about me!" Max cried, her tears breaking free.

_**Isn't it, though?** _

"No!"

Kate withdrew her hand as if it had been burned. "Max, we… _I_ want to help you. Please let me."

Max got up, turning toward the door. "You should probably be getting ready for class."

Kate latched onto Max's wrist to halt her retreat. "We don't have class this morning."

Max tried to pull her arm free, but it wouldn't budge. She was bound. Trapped in the blinding white as a needle pressed against her neck. Max shrieked, and her arm finally came free. She fell to the ground, and the Dark Room was no more. She was back in Kate's room with a worried Kate standing over her. Kate's arm was still outstretched, her hand bent in an awkward position that only made sense if it was wrapped around a wrist.

Max released her powers, tears streaming anew. She looked up to find Kate frightened, and just a bit puzzled. But still, she had that look of genuine concern in her eyes. "Oh God, I'm so fucked up, Kate!" Rolling over onto her knees she reached out to Kate. Without a moment's hesitation, Kate too, was on her knees, ready to embrace Max.

"Hey is everything okay?" Dana's voice came from the door as it opened. "We heard a scream."

Though Max couldn't see it, she felt Kate give a small nod. Thankfully, no other words were exchanged before the door clicked closed. "I'm here for you, Max. I'm right here," she whispered. Kate pulled back, placing both her hands on Max's shoulders. "I have all morning, and I know you do, too."

After a few minutes to calm down and collect herself, Max found herself again on Kate's couch. Kate sat over on her bed, patiently waiting for Max to open up.

_How did it end up like this?_

Max came in here to reassure Kate and somehow, she was the fragile one, hanging by a frayed thread. Damned if it wasn't true, though. This past week had been hell. Maybe even worse than the week that never was. At least then she had Chloe.

An errant thought flitted through her mind. This morning, it had been so liberating to tell Frank even just a little about that week. Kate would totally listen to her and not judge. She probably wouldn't believe her, but did that even matter? "Kate, can I… can I tell you a story?"

"Yes!" Kate replied, way too quickly. The poor girl must've been waiting so long for Max to say anything. "I mean, well… yes."

Max couldn't help but to give a little smile. It fell away almost instantly.

_How do I frame this?_

"I… just keep going over and over in my head, what happened—what might've happened if I could just… just go back and stop Chloe from dying."

Kate gave a reassuring smile. "Channeling your feelings into art is a wonderful way to try to work through your emotions. I never knew you were one to write, though."

"I never wrote anything." Max shook her head before pointing to her temple. "It's all… up here. And it won't… Maybe if I get it out. Say it out loud to someone. I can finally..."

_Do I even want to move on?_

_**Don't.** _

Max was looking at Kate that time. Kate didn't say anything. Looking for the source of the voice, Max looked all around the room, but the only other occupant was Alice. And she wasn't about to say anything.

"Max, are you okay?" Kate asked. "You trailed off and now you're looking around like you've seen a ghost." Gasping, she covered her mouth with both hands. "No! I didn't mean to say that!"

"N-no. It's okay." Max turned her attention back to Kate. "I just… It's just a story, okay? Not even a very good one."

"I'm listening," Kate said.

Max proceeded to tell Kate the whole macabre tale, leaving out the superpowers and time travel. Just, the crazy, awful, wonderful week she had spent with Chloe. She skipped over a lot of the smaller stuff, the whole alternate realities thing and the nightmare she endured inside her fractured mind. The Dark Room was an important part of the story, but Max made every effort to spare details, more for her own sake than Kate's. She let the story end where she last saw Chloe. Kissing her at the lighthouse. Selfishly clinging to the best thing in her life as she abandoned virtually every other facet by letting it be razed by fate's wrath. The life she could've chosen. Her grand sacrifice.

To Kate's credit, she didn't interrupt much through the whole thing, and even offered emotional support through some of the harder memories. Max had tried to play the whole thing off as fiction, but what kind of storyteller gets choked up whenever something fucking horrible is happening?

"So what do you think?" Max asked, sniffling as she rubbed her eyes. She looked up to see Kate had a look on her face somewhere between shock and horror. Like the looks on everyone's faces when Kate took a swan dive before Max rewound. "Pretty messed up, right?"

"Oh, Max!" Kate leapt from the bed to wrap Max up in a hug. "Why would you imagine such horrible things for yourself and… and everyone?"

"It's just… what's in my head," Max muttered. "It's dark in here." It was a lame attempt at a joke, but even Max couldn't chuckle at it. "Lonely…"

Kate pulled back so that she could look Max in the eye. "Max your story… that felt like _so_ much more than just a story. Was… did some of that happen? For real?"

"T-too close to home, huh?" Max sniffled. "Maybe I should add in some sci-fi stuff. Rewinding time and alternate realities and shit." She just couldn't hold out, and tears sprang anew. "That would be better, right?"

Putting her hand on Max's cheek, Kate forced Max to look at her. "Max, have you… I mean, I've been talking to my dad and the school counselor almost every day since everything happened. Have you considered talking to someone about everything? If you don't want to talk to the therapist my dad is super easy to talk to and a great listener."

Max shook her head as she pulled Kate's hand away. "You're a great listener, too, Kate. Thank you." Standing up, Max turned to the door. "That's… that's more than enough talk for one day, right?"

Kate held out a hand toward Max, but stopped short of actually touching her. "I… maybe we should have like… like a sleepover or something? You could stay here or I can set up in your room."

That look in her eye. Kate was scared. Terrified.

_Unlike you, idiot, she's willing to put in the extra mile_.

Max gave her what she really hoped was a convincing smile. "Thanks for listening to my story, Kate. I… I really feel better, now."

Marching to the door, Max felt Kate trailing after her. "Do you want to do lunch?"

"I don't… know," Max ground out as she opened the door. Across the hall, Dana rose from a sitting position, patting her rear to remove any dirt she may have collected.

"Max! You took forever in there," Dana said. Max stepped into the hallway with Kate right behind her. "I wasn't, like, eavesdropping or anything. I swear."

Max glanced over to her room, just a few steps away. "Were you waiting for me?"

"I just…" Dana reached up, toying with her hair a bit. "I _may_ have screwed up, just a bit. I wanted to apologize in person."

"What happened?" Max asked, the urge to retreat to her room flitting away.

"Well, I might of kind of let a… uh, friend have your number," Dana said. "He was super insistent and practically made me give it to him. He's kinda… really shady, but he means well. I know he's just trying to find out more about Rachel Amber. I guess he figures you might know more, given… you know, everything that's going on."

Max shook her head. "You mean Frank?"

Dana's eyes went wide. "How did you know?"

"It's totally fine, Dana," Max said. "Seriously. Don't worry about it. I already told him everything. We're cool." Finally making it to the threshold of her sanctuary, Max turned back to Kate. "We… we should get together for tea again sometime."

"I'd love that!" Kate called back, just before the door closed. The moment it did, her shoulders drooped. The weight of what little burden she took from Max made her knees buckle. Deep in her heart, she knew that story was no work of fiction.

"Wow, you look worse than Max," Dana said, leaning over toward Kate. "You okay?"

Kate pulled a finger through a few stray strands of hair, setting them behind her ear. "Dana, can I ask you a question?"

Dana smirked. "You just did, but go ahead and ask another."

"This Frank… is he… is he a drug dealer?"

"Dude!" Dana reached out, slapping a hand over Kate's mouth as she looked up and down the hall. "Don't just blurt shit like that out!"

"Sorry," Kate apologized the moment Dana withdrew her hand. "So… is he?"

Dana chuckled, putting a hand on her hip. "You really don't seem like the kind of girl who parties."

Guilt and shame washed over Kate as the few flitting memories of the Vortex Party and the infamous video bubbled to the surface. Fear and horror followed as she looked at the pictures of herself the police took from the Dark Room. "No," Kate refused, her voice resolute. "Never."

"So what do you care?" Dana asked.

"I…" Kate looked over at Max's room before looking back at Dana. Kate knew Dana was friends with Max, but just how close she wasn't all that sure. But still, the girl did rush in at the sound of Max's scream. And then she waited outside for what, an hour? Just to apologize in person. "Can you keep a secret? About Max."

Dana looked to the still half-open door to Kate's room. "Yeah. I can."

"Promise me."

Dana sighed, her eyes rolling. "Okay, I promise."

"Max… she told me a story. She said she just made it up, but…" Kate wrapped her arms around herself as an icy chill ran down her spine. "It was so... real. And it was so sad, and scary, and… horrifying." She shook her head. "In the story, she told me she had a few encounters with a Frank. He was a…" Kate looked up and down the hall, mimicking Dana's actions, before leaning in and whispering, "A drug dealer."

"He's kind of infamous 'round here," Dana replied. "I'm really more surprised that you haven't heard of him before. You look… kind of freaked out." Dana then slapped her forehead. "Shit." She grabbed Kate by the wrist and dragged her back into Kate's room. Shutting the door securely behind, she turned back to Kate. She hissed, "That asshole probably sold Nathan the drugs he used on you, didn't he?"

The thought never crossed Kate's mind. A sinking ball of disgust formed in the pit of her stomach as it dawned on her. That's exactly what happened. Kate took a calming breath, trying to erase the bad feelings. "If this is the same Frank from Max's story, then… then he regrets his role. He has a good heart, deep down, and deserves forgiveness."

Dana just stared at her for a moment before shaking her head. "Girl, you are a fucking saint."

"This isn't about me. This is about Max."

"Seriously. Saint." Dana nodded. "But yeah, go ahead. What's this story about?"

"That's just it, I _don't_ think it's a story. I-I can't explain how or why. But the way she told it, the things she knew…" Kate shuddered. "Did you ever see the movie _It's a Wonderful Life_?"

"The one where the angel shows the guy what it would've been like if he'd never existed?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah. I think… and don't laugh, I am completely serious, I think something like that happened with Max. An angel showed her what life would've been like if Chloe Price _didn't_ die."

Despite the "don't laugh" warning, Dana couldn't help but to chuckle. "Seriously?" She looked back at Kate's face and her jovial features ebbed away. "For real?"

"At first, her story was really sweet. Max was rekindling her friendship with Chloe and making friends and… and together both of them were looking into Rachel's disappearance. But it got so dark and so scary so fast."

"I guess, if Chloe never died, she would still be looking for Rachel," Dana mused. "She was always putting up those fliers everywhere."

"Right, and poor Rachel wouldn't have been found if Nathan didn't get arrested for killing Chloe."

Dana shuddered. "Kinda creepy how that lines up."

"It wasn't just that," Kate replied. "The whole story was like that. Like… details you would never think of on your own. Little things that definitely would be different. And things she shouldn't know!"

"Like what?"

"Like Frank!" Kate replied. "If she'd met Frank, then he'd have her number and not get it from you, right?"

"Well, not necessarily. I mean, like I said before, he _does_ have a reputation."

"It's not just…" Kate trailed off as she wrapped her arms around herself. Max's tale of her attempted suicide and her uncanny description of the Dark Room fluttered through her mind. "N-nevermind. I'm just so scared for Max. She is _not_ in a good place right now."

"I know," Dana replied. She rubbed her arm as she turned back toward Kate's door in the direction of Max's dorm. "At least she's letting you in. She won't even talk to me."

Kate shook her head. "But she hasn't been. Just… today…"

_That awful story._

"I'm afraid Max is…" Kate's mind flashed back to the day that Chloe died. How she felt trapped with no way out before the truth about that video was brought to light. "Max is spiraling. This… Max coming to me was a cry for help! We have to help her!"

Dana's arms fell to her sides as she shrugged. "How?"

Kate's fingers wrapped tightly around her cross. "I wish I knew." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath in and out as she prayed for Max's well-being. "Do you know if anyone else might know something?"

"No," Dana said with a shake of her head, "well, I mean, there's Warren. Poor guy's been following after Max like a lost little puppy even before all this shit went down. But I don't think Max has been talking to him, either."

Kate grabbed her phone. "Do you have his number?"


	3. Taking Over Me

Max barely got the door closed behind her before she collapsed. She didn't even make it to her bed. Hitting the floor and curling up into a ball, she tried her damnedest to block out the haunting memories brought fresh by telling Kate everything. It was supposed to make her feel better, but it just reminded her of everything she lost. Everything she sacrificed because fate, the same force she was sure brought her and Chloe together again after five years, decided to completely fuck her over.

_Fuck you, fate!_

_**Conquer it.** _

"What?" Max choked out, her sobs ebbing away. She was alone, in her _sanctum sanctorum_. "Who are you?" she shouted at no one. "Leave me alone!"

_**Never.** _

"What do you want from me?"

_**The same thing**_ _ **you**_ _**want.**_

"I just want Chloe!"

_**Take her back.** _

"I can't!"

_**You won't… yet.** _

"Shut up!"

A thumping sounded from behind. "Max? You okay in there?"

Max drew a sharp breath at the sound of Brooke's voice. The interruption granted her clarity, as she realized that she had just spent who knows how much time curled up in a ball on the floor arguing with voices in her head. "I-I'm fine!" Max shouted back as she stretched out, swiping at her wet eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Max replied, mustering much more confidence in her voice.

"If you say so, Max."

The sounds of Brooke retreating made Max feel a bit better, though it just left her alone with her own thoughts again.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_

_**You keep wasting time.** _

"Shut. Up," Max muttered, making sure to keep her voice low enough that it wouldn't carry.

Her head hadn't been this muddled since the nightmare at the lighthouse. And she hadn't even used her powers. Not in any way that mattered. She still woke up screaming with the familiar pressure in her head spiraling out of control. The couple of seconds she rewound with Kate earlier because she got worked up. But she made every effort to make sure that things didn't change. If she did the exact same thing after the rewind, it doesn't count, right?

_Why do I even still have this curse?_

_**To win.** _

Max took a deep breath in and out. Maybe if she ignored the voices, they would go away. Trying to push every thought from her head, she tried to busy herself with what needed to be done. Stipping down, she grabbed her toiletries. She needed a shower. Maybe that would make her feel better.

It didn't.

A shower meant sitting alone with your thoughts. That was something Max did _not_ need. At least the voices didn't come back to taunt her. It was almost like they wanted her to use her powers and fuck up the world. Max would never do that. The only reason Chloe was dead was because of how her powers led to catastrophe. If she abused her powers now, it would mean that Chloe had died for nothing. So never again. Never again would she use her powers. Not if she could help it.

Max grabbed her phone as soon as she got back to her room before flopping down on her bed. Any distraction would have been good at this point. Even one that meant interacting with people. The first thing that caught her eye was a text from an unknown number.

[Unknown]

[Hey. This is Frank. Your friend gave me your number.]

[I just wanted to say thanks for telling me all that shit. You didn't  
have to but you told me everything like we were old buddies.]

[I owe you one. And I don't say that shit to nobody.]

And this is why Max hated social interactions. How the hell was she supposed to reply to that? Part of her was actually touched. Frank was thanking her, and he said that he owed her one, whatever the hell that meant.

[Max]

[I hope it brings you some closure. Just don't tell anyone I let you know!]

Next up, a text from each of her parents. Both read more or less the same. Someone, probably the principal, let them know that she had stopped seeing the school therapist. They were concerned and wanted to know if she was okay or if there was anything they could do.

No. No to all. Max was not okay. And there wasn't anything anyone in the whole shitty world could do about it. Not unless someone out there had necromancer powers to compliment her time-fuckery.

Auto Max really screwed up by going to a therapist to begin with. Max had been able to gather that she'd had two sessions with that therapist, but anything they'd talked about only the therapist knew. It wasn't like Max got any of Auto Max's memories to go off of. She didn't even know what Auto Max told the police. Probably a whole lot of "I don't remember" given that she'd possessed that particular Max in the bathroom.

"Shit," Max muttered as she drew ragged breaths in and out and tears spilled over. Of course her own brain proved to be the enemy, stirring up the worst memory of her life.

It took a few minutes before Max could pull herself together enough to move on.

[Kate]

[I hope you're still feeling better. I just wanted you to know that  
I really appreciate your trust in telling me that story. If you ever  
need to open up about anything, I'm always here for you.  
xoxoxo]

_Oh, Kate. I really shouldn't have put that on you._

As shitty as scaring Kate about her well-being was, Max just couldn't bring herself to come up with any sort of reply. Instead, she clicked on the next name she didn't want to talk to.

[Warren]

[Yo yo Max.

I know it's been a real trip these past couple of weeks.  
But hey, I got my new wheels and there's a sick drive-in a  
couple hours away. Maybe getting outta town and catching  
a flick might be just the distraction you need.]

[Let me know.]

_I do need a distraction. But definitely not that one._

Turning off her screen, Max set the phone aside. That wasn't so much a distraction as an exercise in self-loathing. Maybe it wouldn't have bothered her so much if this reality wasn't so fucking perfect. Nobody died. No suffering and attempted suicides. No F5 tornado bearing down on Arcadia Bay. And all it cost was one innocent life, and all the happiness Max ever knew.

_Was this what it was like for Chloe after William?_

Max remembered how Joyce told her that the last time Chloe was truly happy was the day William died. And of course, Max abandoned her right after that. Maybe Max deserved this pain, but one thing was certain: Chloe didn't.

Looking for another distraction, Max grabbed her diary. She flipped to the page where she had started recording her recurrent dreams. Maybe she could keep her toxic thoughts at bay by trying to solve a mystery. Even if there was no real mystery, just her own conscience trying to plague her.

That damned dream always went the same. Just a different location each time. Maybe they would stop on their own once there were no new locations to visit. But they felt like more than just dreams. It was something closer to her visions of the tornado. Why then, would her spirit animal keep tormenting her like that? What could it possibly be telling her?

Trailing over the locations, she couldn't find a pattern. After the third or fourth dream a few days ago, Max thought that maybe the ghostly deer was trying to show her something she missed. Like, maybe there was something she could've done differently that would prevent her having to sacrifice Chloe. But she spent days teasing out that train of thought. It was just a giant mind fuck that led nowhere. Now, all Max could imagine was that the deer was telling her it didn't matter what decisions she made. No matter what happened, fate would've led her to the same fucking place: Chloe's grave.

Resigning with a sigh, she stowed the book in her bag. Max grabbed her phone and looked at the time: 09:49. It would still be almost an hour before she needed to leave for gym class, but what the hell else was she supposed to do?

* * *

Max somehow made it out of the dorms without anyone hassling her. But when she stepped down, a familiar face interrupted her otherwise successful attempt to talk to no one. She still didn't feel like talking to anyone, especially after her disastrous encounter with Kate. But her mind was still stuck on that dream, and before her was one person who might actually be able to give her some insight.

"Hey, Samuel," Max greeted as she walked up to where he was sitting on a bench.

Samuel gave her a warm smile. "Why, hello, Max."

"I, um… I know I haven't said anything to you in a while. Sorry." Max ducked her head down, avoiding eye contact.

"No need to apologize. You are lonely, but want to be alone," Samuel replied. "But Max, if you keep everyone out, your heart will only continue to bleed."

Max nodded, only mostly understanding what he was getting at. "Yeah. It's… not that easy, though."

"Nothing worth having is gotten easily. Friends help."

"Samuel, can I ask you a question?"

Samuel nodded. "Anything for you, Max."

"This might sound stupid, but I keep having this recurring dream. In the dream, a doe leads me along a moonlit path. And it… it always leads me to the same place."

"That must be your spirit animal," Samuel replied. "If it keeps appearing in your dreams like that, then there must be a very important reason."

"I was thinking the same thing, but do you know what that reason might be?"

"Spirit animals are guardians and guides. If yours is leading you somewhere, that is where you need to be."

_God. No._

Max closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. "There… must be something else," she said as she opened her eyes, all but begging for a different answer.

"The deer is a very special spirit animal, you know. They might be shy, but they are also the only animals that will stand firm and challenge fate, even if they know it will destroy them."

"That… helps," Max said as she waved. "I really should be going, though. It was nice talking with you."

"Any time, Max," Samuel said, waving in turn. "But don't wait too long."

Max all but ran away from Samuel. Sure, it never occurred to her that the deer wanted her to actually visit Chloe's grave, but that was the last place on earth she wanted to be. There had to be another interpretation. There had to be.

As she rounded the corner and came up on the parking lot, Max noticed that Frank was still parked there. She wasn't sure if David was back to the job yet, but either way, Frank had to know it was risky to hang around so long. Before Max could ponder it any further, the door opened and Hayden stepped out, stuffing something into his jacket.

_Guess Frank didn't have a change of heart after all._

Frank appeared after Hayden, reaching out to grab the door. As he did, he looked up and caught Max's gaze. He then pulled his head back toward his RV, a universal sign of "come over here" before pulling the door closed.

Max just stood there a moment, contemplating if she should go after him. Would the world never leave her alone for even a few minutes? There was only one person Max wanted to spend time with right now—

Max pulled her arms around herself as a chill ran up and down her spine. Before her eyes, an image of Chloe's grave flashed.

_Go there. Message received._

Trembling, she started toward the RV. She raised a fist to knock, but the door swung open first.

"Hey, kid." Frank greeted, stepping out. "Didn't expect to see you back so soon." His eyes were bloodshot, making Max wonder if he was high, or if he'd been crying over Rachel. Though Max had a hard time imagining someone like Frank crying into his beer.

"I _do_ go to school here," Max replied.

Frank gave a chuckle as he fished out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "Fair enough," he said as he lit the cigarette and gave it a puff.

Before, the smell of cigarette smoke stirred a strong revulsion in Max. Now, it just made her miss Chloe. "You really shouldn't be doing that on school grounds."

"What is Blackwell security gonna do? Tell me to put it out and not do it again?" Frank took another long drag. "Fuck them." When Max didn't reply and just stood there, he continued, "Look, I just wanted to say thanks again. I mean it."

"You… you said that you owed me one," Max said, the words leaving her before she could even think about it.

Frank nodded. "Calling it in already? Shit." He threw down the half-finished cigarette and ground it into the blacktop with his boot. "Name it."

Max looked over to the RV. "I need a ride."

"Where to?"

"I need…" Max gripped the strap on her bag with both hands. "I need to see her. Talk to her."

"I'm gonna need more information than that. Like a damn location?"

Max took a deep breath in and out. "The cemetery, unless that RV of yours can go like, three alternate realities over."

"Tch." Frank opened the door and motioned for Max to follow. "You really believe in that multiple universes bullshit?"

"Yeah, I do," Max replied as she, for the second time in the same day, waltzed right into a drug dealer's home. Chloe would've been proud.

"Watch out for Pompidou, he's not fond of strangers," Frank said as he retreated to the driver's seat.

Pompidou, sitting by his food bowl behind the driver's seat, looked up at Max as his tail wagged. "Hey there, Pompidou," Max greeted with a genuine smile as she hunched down and reached out to pet him. He lapped at her hand before bowing his head to let her rub behind his ears.

"Well, shit," Frank said, looking over his shoulder at Max. "I don't think I've ever seen Pompidou take to someone like that. Not since… not since Rachel."

Max got up, heading over to the passenger's seat. "Sorry again. For your loss, I mean," she said as she buckled up.

"Yeah. Rachel's got her own plot there, now. I might do some visiting of my own." He put the vehicle into gear and took off.

* * *

[Dana]

[Hey i dont know how things are going on ur end  
but i just saw max drive off with frank  
yea THAT frank]

[Kate]

[Thank you for letting me know. I'm talking to Warren right  
now, trying to figure out a way to help her. I just pray that  
we can reach her.]

Kate sighed as she set her phone down. "That was Dana," she said, looking across the picnic table at a rather stressed-looking Warren. "She said she _just_ saw Max drive off with Frank."

Warren shook his head a bit. "Who is Frank?"

Having learned her lesson from Dana, Kate made sure to look in every direction before leaning across the table and whispering to Warren. "He's a drug dealer."

Warren's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What?"

Kate shook her head. "It's not like that. I heard this morning that Frank just wanted answers from Max about what happened to Rachel Amber."

"The why doesn't matter!" Warren snapped, slamming his hands on the table. "Max could be in serious danger!"

"I think… I believe that Max is in safe hands. She trusts him," Kate said, keeping her voice calm and soothing.

"What, because of a story Max told you?" Warren argued.

"Yes!" Kate emphatically replied. "I told you, I… in my heart I know that it was not just a story."

"It's just… It's not possible. No way, no how."

"Can't you just believe? Even for a moment? Even for Max?"

Warren sighed. "You won't even tell me about the story."

Kate shook her head. "If it's not a story, then it was… very private things about Max's life. Or the life she could've had. It's not my place to—"

"It's just a story!" Warren nearly shouted. "Chloe Price is dead, and Max is going through hell because she watched her childhood friend die right in front of her."

Kate grabbed her phone, stowing it. Just as she was about to get up, she tried one more thing. It was a small matter, but it had been bugging her for the past hour. "Wasn't it strange?" she asked. "How Max changed overnight the day of the funeral? She was freaked out for a couple of days right after Chloe… passed, but then, it was almost like she was back to normal. And then, ever since the funeral, it's like she's a whole different person."

Warren opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself. His eyes trailed away and Kate could almost see the gears in his mind churning away. "I was her ride, you know," Warren said. "On the way there, she was… sad, but she was moving on. She wanted me to drive her back here after everything so she could see the school therapist."

"Please tell me she's still seeing her!" Kate begged.

A shake of Warren's head dashed those hopes. "Out of the blue, Max just… she went from being together to a… a sobbing mess. She said she couldn't do this and begged me to take her back to Blackwell. I talked her into going to the funeral, and she held herself together after that, but… On the way back, she completely shut down. She… never went back to the therapist and she stopped talking to me altogether."

"When Max changed… was it a little after noon?"

Warren scratched his head. "Y-yeah, now that you mention it. I think so. What does that matter?"

"Warren, Max's story… it ended around noon on October 11th."

For a moment, Warren just sat there, slack-jawed as his eyes flitted back and forth. "No… no way!" He got up, taking a few steps away before stepping back. "You're saying that Max experienced two realities simultaneously, and then it came full circle at the end? Like some kind of quantum memory? Is that even possible?"

Kate watched Warren pace back and forth for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm not… entirely sure what you're talking about, but I truly believe that Max experienced another life for a week. And I think that life has affected her so very deeply."

"And you're absolutely certain that this story is somehow real? That it really happened?"

Kate nodded. "At first, I had my doubts, but the more I think about it… I honestly believe that this was something she experienced firsthand."

"Prove it," Warren challenged as he sat back down. "Make me believe."

With a sigh, Kate brought her arms around herself. "O-okay. There was… one part about her story that was about me. That should make it okay for me to share."

"Yeah," he said, leaning in. "Go on."

"The day Chloe died… That day was a very hard day for me, even before the gunshot. There was… a video of me going around about the Vortex Club party."

The excited, expectant look on Warren's face melted away as he sat back. "Yeah, I heard about that. Didn't the police take it down?"

"They did," Kate said. "But if Chloe didn't die, if Nathan didn't get arrested, it would've stayed on the internet, forever." Taking a deep breath, Kate tried to find her center. When her breath came out, it was ragged with negative emotion. "In Max's story, I kept getting bullied about that party. Bullied to the point where I went up to the dorm roof… and stepped out the edge."

"Kate, there's no way you would—"

"I'd already thought about it!" Kate snapped back. "The night before Chloe got shot, I couldn't sleep. I found my way up to the roof and it was so serene and so…" Fighting a lump in her throat, she shook her head. "I thought it would be so much easier if I just…" Kate sighed again. "I think I'd made up my mind at that point. What I was going to do. How I was going to do it."

"I… I had no idea."

Kate hugged herself tight, feeling a terrible chill run through her. "No one did. I _never_ told anyone about that. I certainly didn't tell Max. But in her story, she knew _everything_ Warren! The video, that Nathan dosed me, the Dark Room, everything!"

"The Dark Room?"

Kate brought a hand to her mouth. "I-I'm sorry! I'm not supposed to talk about that with anyone. Forget I said that!"

Warren looked to both sides before catching Kate's gaze again. "This is about the police investigation, isn't it?"

"Please, forget I said that," Kate begged.

"But… I mean, isn't Max involved with the investigation, too? Shouldn't she know all those details?"

"No!" Kate nearly yelled. "Max… All Max did was witness Nathan shoot Chloe. She didn't have anything to do with any of the rest. And the rest—the _details_ she knew. She knows _more_ than the police do, Warren!"

Warren sighed as he hunched over, resting his arms on the table. "Okay, say I believe you, which I'm not 100% there. What are we supposed to do with this information? How do we protect Max from an experience that never even really happened?"

"I… don't know…"


	4. Heaven's a Lie

Max sat in her seat, her gaze a thousand yard stare out the window. It took everything in her to keep herself from breaking down at the funeral. If it hadn't been so… surreal, she surely would've flipped her shit. And now here she was, going right back to that place to put herself through hell. For what? Because a dream led her there?

_Max, you're such an idiot._

Eager for anything to take her mind off of her march to the end of her world, she glanced over at Frank. For just a moment, her mind tormented her, showing her an enthusiastic Chloe behind the wheel. Max had to tear her gaze away, back to the safety of the window. "I… saw Hayden leaving here before I came over."

"Yeah?"

"I dunno," Max said with a shrug. "I kind of expected you to maybe stop dealing after learning about Rachel."

"What the fuck did you just say?"

"Wh-what?" Max asked, daring a glance over at Frank.

Frank pulled the RV off to the side of the road and threw his seatbelt off. "You a fucking narc?"

"What? No, I—"

Pulling out his knife, he pointed it at Max. "You better choose your next fucking words very carefully."

Right now, if she rewound, none of this would happen. It would be like she never said anything at all. But it would make Chloe's sacrifice for nothing. Max would rather die. Besides, Frank's bark was worse than his bite, right?

_Please be right, Chloe._

"Chloe got her pot from you. For like, three years."

Frank breathed a heavy breath out through his nose. "She told you that?" he asked, gesturing toward Max with the blade.

"Yeah. She… always got it from you," Max replied, her eyes glued to the knife. Hot blood rushed in her ears. "Next to Rachel, she probably trusted you the most."

Frank pulled the knife away. "Bitch never could mind her own fucking business." Pointing at Max as he sat back down, he warned, "Don't you fucking tell a soul, you hear me?"

Eager to earn his trust and keep that blade sheathed, Max went out on a limb. "I didn't tell the police you were the one that sold Nathan the drugs he used on Kate Marsh. Isn't that proof enough to trust me?"

"And just how the fuck would you know about that?"

Max kicked herself again. Every time she opened her mouth, she dug herself just a little deeper. "Nathan… he was ranting about it when he came into the bathroom. Right… right before…" The memories flooded back again. Meeting the business end of Frank's blade would've been less painful. Tears came anew as she hugged herself. "God… Chloe…"

Before she could spiral any further, she felt an insistent nudge on her elbow. She looked down to find Pompidou there by her side. Sniffling, she petted Pompidou as he rested his head on her thigh. Max barely registered that the RV started moving again as she tried her damnedest to keep the vile memories at bay.

"If Pompidou trusts you, shit, that's good enough for me." After a couple of minutes of silence, Frank spoke up again. "Hey, sorry about the knife. I guess I'm not used to people actually being fucking straight with me." When Max didn't respond, he continued, "To answer your question, let's just say that some things aren't on the menu anymore. And no way in hell am I gonna sell to someone Pompidou doesn't like."

_I guess some people just never change._

Three different Chloes flashed through Max's memories. The young girl she once knew before being torn away from Arcadia Bay, the punk she found when she returned, and the Chloe she met for just one day in a world where William never died.

_Maybe that's for the best._

_**You changed.** _

Pompidou ducked away, retreating back to his spot behind the driver's seat. Incredulous, Max looked over at Frank. He was driving, his eyes stuck to the road. Turning her gaze back to Pompidou, she saw him turn his head away. "Did you hear that just now?"

"She protests a bit when we get up to speed," Frank replied, affectionately patting the dash. "Don't worry about it though, like most women, she just likes to bitch."

Part of Max wanted to yell at the pig for that comment, but she was far more interested in Pompidou. Either he heard the voice, too, or at least sensed… something.

_It's not just in my head…_

It was reassuring that she wasn't about to fracture her own mind again, but that left an even more ominous realization. Someone, or something, could sense her thoughts and speak directly to her. Or _somethings_. She could swear there were different voices.

"Frank, do you… do you think I'm screwed up. In the head?"

"You know, until today the only time I've seen anyone go from tear-your-fucking-throat-out pissed to a crying, crumpled heap in three seconds, the asshole got stabbed."

"Getting stabbed would've hurt less."

"Ever actually been stabbed? Hurts like a motherfucker, let me tell you."

Max gripped her hands in her lap, her nails digging into her palms. "More than watching your whole world die, right in front of you?"

"No… no, I guess not." Frank chanced a look over at Max. "You sure you don't want something to take the edge off? You look tense."

"Ever been drugged and bound, sealed in a bunker to be the plaything of a fucking serial killer? I _never_ want to feel like that again." Max hugged herself. Why would she say that out loud?

Frank nodded. "Fair enough."

Feeling trapped, she tugged at her seatbelt. She couldn't breathe. "I need… I need some air!" Her heart thundered in her chest with so much force that it physically hurt.

"We're almost there, keep your shit together."

Max didn't hear him as she rolled out of her seat. Stumbling, she moved to the steps and reached for the door.

"Hey! We're fucking moving, dumbass!"

Max leaned on the door, but the air pressure only let it open a bit before it slammed shut back in her face. She moved to try again, but a sudden braking threw her against the back of the passenger seat. She recoiled as soon as she had the chance, and made for the door again. This time, the pressure was gone, and it burst open, allowing Max to stumble out onto the street.

The panic didn't fade. Her heart continued to pound in her ears and her chest burned, aching for air. Her eyes struggled to focus and her thoughts muddled together, flooding her mind with memories from the darkest corners of her mind. Above all the feeling of imminent doom still clutched her. Finally, everything went black.

* * *

A familiar rushing sound met Max's ears. Stinging rain pelted her as a powerful wind buffeted her. All around her, the air felt charged with powerful electricity.

_No! Not again!_

Max turned, and there it was. That _same_ tornado. But it wasn't off in the distance. Max looked around. She wasn't at the lighthouse, safe and out of harm's way. She stood on the docks, right in the path of the tornado!

"No! Not here! Not now!" She shouted at the heavens. "I gave up everything! Everything to prevent this!"

"Max!"

_That voice!_

* * *

"Chloe!"

Max shot up, her arms extending out toward nothing.

"I've made a decision. You are definitely fucked in the head."

Max looked around, her heart still thumping in her ears. Somehow, she ended up in Frank's bed, and she suddenly felt pretty gross. A hand trailed to her head as she tried to adjust from her dream. No. Not a dream. Her vision. "Ugh. How did I end up here?"

"You don't remember?" Frank asked from his spot in a chair by the bed. "You completely flipped your shit and jumped out the RV while I was driving!"

Max tried to trace back her memories, but the thought derailed at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in what felt like an eternity. Closing her eyes, she tried to move on. She was talking to Frank. The Dark Room came up. "I-I panicked. It felt… I felt like I was gonna die."

"I had half a mind to leave your scrawny ass out there in the street! Do you have any idea how bad it would've looked if someone saw you doing that crazy ass shit? The cops come here and I'm fucked!"

"Sorry! I-I just…" Max took a deep breath. "Sorry."

Frank pointed at her as he got up. "You're gonna be the one owing me by the time this shit is over." He walked by and out of the RV.

Max slid out of the bed, making sure to pat herself off before following after Frank. Stepping out of the RV, she found Frank and Pompidou waiting for her. They were just off the winding road leading through the cemetery.

Frank pointed to his left. "Chloe's down that way." He then motioned the other way. "I'm gonna go pay my respects to Rachel."

"Thank you, Frank," Max said, though her feet stayed glued there next to Frank.

Frank grabbed her hand and shoved something in it. "On the house."

Staring down at her hand, she found a yellow, rectangular pill. "What? I told you—"

"It's a Xanax," Frank said, matter-of-factly. "It breaks easily into quarters. Take a fourth next time you start to flip your shit. If that doesn't work, take more."

"No," Max said, holding out her hand at Frank for him to take it back. "I can't."

"You know, not everyone medicates to get high or to escape or some shit. Sometimes people need to treat themselves and for whatever reason, I'm a better option than a doctor." Frank pointed to the pill in Max's outstretched hand. "A quarter shouldn't hit your head too much, but it'll help chill your ass out. Trust me, I know my shit." He turned and started down the path, Pompidou following after him. "Besides, I can't have your scrawny ass jumping out of my RV again."

As Frank retreated, Max just stood there, staring at the pill in her hand. Deliberately, she closed her hand and her eyes. If she thought too much about it, she probably _would_ need to take it. In an attempt to shove it from her thoughts, she stuck it in her bag. A lingering glance back at Frank and Pompidou marching away, and Max tore her attention back to the thing she still didn't know she had the guts to face. Chloe was over there. Right over there. Rotting in the ground. Because of her.

Despite the warm midday sun, Max wrapped her arms tightly around herself. Just to take the first couple of steps took everything in her. Max couldn't find the courage to talk to Chloe on her own when she abandoned her for five years. How was she supposed to go see her after she let her die? Her feet stopped dead, refusing to bring her even one step closer.

Then, a voice from the past echoed in her ears, " _Max Caulfield, don't you forget about me._ "

A painful pressure stirred in Max's chest. She couldn't abandon her like that. Not ever again. Finding the strength to move forward, she started toward the last place she wanted to be, and the only person she wanted to see.

As Max got closer, she had to force her gaze to the ground. She knew that if she looked up, if she saw it, she would surely lose her nerve. Somehow, she held out until she shambled upon a mound of dirt, covered in wilted flowers. This was it. Max didn't even need to glance over at the tombstone. Chloe was right here.

Max put her here.


	5. The Truth Beneath the Rose

Standing statue-still, the comforting numbness faded from Max, eaten away by a profound regret. She knelt down on the grass, no longer having the strength to stand. "Chloe…"

The back of her hand swept across her eyes, pulling free the tears that threatened to fall. "You're a fucking hero. Did anyone ever tell you that?" Max stared up, blinking rapidly, but it was futile to hold back the flood. "Arcadia Bay and everyone in it. You saved them all. You gave up everything for this shithole that never gave a damn about you."

Max glanced over at the polished stone, feeling a powerful urge to destroy it—to pulverize it to dust. "You deserve better," she said, reaching out and touching the smooth, cold gravestone. "Arcadia Bay should've made you a goddamn monument."

She hung her head, letting her tears flow down her cheeks. "Why!" She screamed at her. "Why did you have to ask me to sacrifice you!" Choking on her sobs, Max struggled to breathe. "We could've just… We could've found a way to move on, but I can't live without you."

_**Take her back.** _

Max's hands clenched tightly enough for her nails to dig painfully into her palms. "You stay the fuck out of this!" she screamed at the voice. "Not here! Not in front of her!"

_**This is cruel fate's victory.** _

An image flashed through her mind. Chloe turning around and raising David's gun, only for Jefferson's gunshot to rip through her skull, leaving her lifeless corpse on top of Rachel.

_**Use your spark.** _

That familiar pressure formed in her head as time spun backwards.

_**Take her back.** _

Max raised her camera, taking Chloe's picture as she danced on her bed with reckless abandon.

_**Conquer hungry fate.** _

The howling returned, with the tornado crashing through Arcadia Bay, lifting whole buildings into the air and shattering them into countless pieces.

"Shut up! Shut up!" Max covered her ears with her hands. "Just leave me alone!"

_**No.** _

_**Time is short.** _

_**There is work to be done.** _

_**You must unseat mighty fate.** _

"I can't!" Max snapped back, stumbling to her feet as she tried her damnedest to shake the voices from my head. "Everyone will die!"

_**She is already dead.** _

Chloe lay before her on the bathroom floor, blood pooling beneath her.

_**The power is within you.** _

Reality bent and distorted as the contents of a photo became real.

_**Do not let clever fate outwit you.** _

Jefferson stood over her as all of her strength faded.

_**She is worth it.** _

Chloe flashed her that breathtaking smile as they leaned against the edge of Blackwell's pool together.

Max gasped for air as she stumbled away. Her grasp on the present floundered as her memories assaulted all of her senses. A glance up, and she saw Frank approaching in the distance with Pompidou. She reached out, intending to shout for him to help, but the present flowed away again.

_**Your strength is greater than merciless fate.** _

Everything became still, just like a photograph. Everything but Max.

_**She is waiting for you.** _

She saw Chloe leaning against her junker puffing on a cigarette. The moment she saw Max, her whole face lit up.

_**Defeat bloodthirsty fate, for all the fallen.** _

A series of memories flashed by. William walking out the door to his imminent demise. Max being ushered by her mom into the packed car just before they left Arcadia Bay for the final time. The smell and awful sight of Rachel in her shallow grave. Chloe's anguished cries.

_**You can still change the outcome.** _

The image of the blue butterfly inside a Polaroid shimmered before her, begging for her to jump into the past.

"I don't even have the photo anymore!" Max screamed. Her voice fell into nothing.

The present didn't return. Max found herself alone. Alone in an endless, black void. Everywhere she looked, nothing. The only sounds to reach her ears were her own tumultuous heartbeat and her unsteady breaths. She felt so small, and so very, very alone in an infinite nothing.

"It is a rare soul," the sound of Max's own voice greeted her. Although it was her voice, it sounded so… calm. Serene and confident. Nothing like Max at all. Before her, that ghostly doe appeared. It gazed at Max, and she heard her own voice, "Usually, when one is in the unending abyss, they think themselves the universe itself. All that exists."

"You're… me?" Max managed to ask.

"No. I am your spirit animal," the doe replied in Max's voice. "I am here to guide you to the truth."

"What truth?"

"Your truth."

The deer faded away. It took a second for it to register that she was all alone again. "Wait!" Max shouted at nothing. "Aren't you supposed to guide me somewhere?" No answer came, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Go to her." Before Max, light shone through the darkness. A flickering like an old home movie reel projected before her. It showed her riding shotgun in Chloe's truck, smiling and talking to her. She could almost hear the conversation.

"I… I can't!" The images faded, descending back into the nothing. Her words hung in the air. Unanswered. Max drew a heavy breath in and out as it started to dawn on her. "My truth…" Nodding she spoke again, "Okay, was there a way for me to prevent the storm from appearing?"

"Yes." This time, the darkness opened to show a still image: Chloe's grave.

Max turned away. "I meant… was there a way without…?"

The blackness returned. "Fate chose her. To strip her bare and consume her. So long as fate is denied, it will lash out with all its might."

Again she stood at the lighthouse, bearing witness to the tornado leveling Arcadia Bay.

"Why!"

"I know not."

A stark realization washed over Max as she watched the violent whirlwind fade, consumed by the darkness. Looking down at her right hand, Max flexed and relaxed her fingers. "I… didn't create the tornado with my powers?"

"Every decision is made. Going back and choosing a different one ultimately changes nothing. That decision was already made and not made. But, a decision was made—one that could not have possibly been made." The abyss opened, showing Max herself as she bent time backwards for the first time, stopping Chloe's death.

"So… it was me?" Max screwed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memories.

"Fate chose her, and you defied fate. The storm was not the result of your power, but fate's will manifest."

Max shook her head. "I don't understand!" Her spirit animal remained silent. "Talk to me!" Nothing. Max panted, not realizing how hard her heart pounded in her chest until this moment. A deep breath in and out, she tried to calm herself, but she couldn't. Max balled her hands into fists and stomped a foot on the endless nothing. "Why don't you talk to me!"

"I have not come here to talk to you."

Hearing her own voice again helped to quell her fears. Her spirit animal hadn't abandoned her. "Right. Guide me to the truth. What, that means I have to ask questions?"

"Yes."

Now she was getting somewhere. "Okay. So why did fate try to destroy Arcadia Bay? Chloe and I were safe!"

"Fate tried to take her." Images flew by, one after another. Nathan shooting Chloe. Chloe accidentally shooting herself. The train bearing down on Chloe. Jefferson shooting Chloe. Chloe trapped on the beach as the storm rapidly approached.

"Fate could not overcome your power, so it tried to manipulate you directly." Images of Jefferson and the Dark Room flitted by.

"It could not even tempt you away." The Everyday Heroes showcase appeared, with everyone surrounding Max and giving her praise.

"You would not be deterred, and you would not allow fate its prize. Your discretions, however, showed fate that you could be swayed. The omnipotent power of fate could not sever her life before your ability, but all it took for you to let her go, was a request from that very girl." Max watched as she rose from her chair at Chloe's bedside and turned the IV up to the max.

A chill ran through Max and a ball of disgust formed in her gut, nearly making her puke. "It was a bluff? And… and I fell for it? It was a trick to make Chloe feel like she needed to sacrifice herself!"

"Fate does not bluff. Had you refused Chloe…" This time, there was no tornado. Nor was there an Arcadia Bay. Just a view from the lighthouse of what used to be a town, but was now just a shore swept bare.

Max sunk to her knees, then fell back on her ass. For a moment, a glorious, fleeting moment, there was a mote of hope that she really could just snap back and save Chloe. But, if what everything that was shown to her was true, then… "So that's my truth? It… doesn't matter? Chloe really did die to save Arcadia Bay. If she lives… everyone dies."

"You forget your power, child." The nothing changed again, showing Max as she stumbled toward the dorms in a time-frozen courtyard.

"It's not… Even if I had that much control, I could never get everyone out safely. Besides, I can't change what I did. It already happened for me. I stay with Chloe at the lighthouse and everyone dies!" After her tirade, only silence met her.

_I didn't ask a fucking question._

Alone in the dark, Max asked a question she feared the answer to. "Was that… my truth? I couldn't save her?"

"It was not."

She breathed out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. That would explain why she was still trapped in the dark oblivion. Closing her eyes, Max tried to find a line of thought that would get her somewhere. Here she was, communing with her spirit animal. She could probably discover the secrets of the universe, if she asked the right questions.

"My… power. Why do I have this power?"

"I know not."

"Okay. How did I get it?"

"I… know not."

_Well, this is going nowhere fast._

"How about fate, then? Why does it want Chloe…?"

"I know not."

"What if I refused Chloe? If Arcadia Bay is destroyed, will fate still try to kill her?"

"I know not."

Slumping down, her hands met an invisible barrier in the darkness. Beneath her fingers it was perfectly smooth like glass, but felt neither warm or cold. She could only assume it was the "ground", whatever that was in this empty nothing. Just asking questions obviously wasn't working. She needed to find her truth, but what was that supposed to even mean?

"What is my truth?"

"You must discover your truth to determine your destiny."

"That… doesn't help." Of course, her words fell into the empty abyss. Would she be trapped in here forever if she didn't ask the right question? In the real world, her body was probably sprawled out over Chloe's grave. Her stomach churned, as her brain showed her Chloe's corpse falling into Rachel's grave.

"What is my destiny?" she asked the first thing that came to mind, trying to outrun her own thoughts.

"You are the master of your destiny. It is for you to decide."

"Give me a break. I'm barely a C average student. Can I get a hint?"

"What does your heart desire?"

"Chloe!" Max answered, far too quickly. Of course, no reply came. "Is it possible for me to see her again—without the storm coming?"

"No."

"Shit." Max closed her eyes. Or at least she thought she did. It was hard to tell in this nothing. "Is it possible for everyone to live? Chloe, Arcadia Bay, everyone?"

"All living things must die."

"I mean… Is it possible to save everyone from the storm?"

"It is possible."

Her heart clenched tight in her chest. "How!"

"It already happened." The black nothing opened to reveal Chloe's grave.

"What? But I…" Max leaned back so she could press her hands against her eyes. This was so infuriating! "I meant, is it possible for Chloe to live _and_ everyone to survive the storm?"

At first, no reply came. Then, Max's voice sounded again, "I know not."

Max let out a frustrated scream. "All I want is Chloe! I want Chole and I want everyone to be okay! Is that too much to ask for?"

"With your strength, there is never too much to ask for."

"Then that's what I want!" Silence greeted her. "How do I get that?"

"There is only one way to overturn Chloe's demise."

All around her, Polaroids appeared. They circled her, floating by in ribbons. After several seconds, they stopped. The one directly in front of Max was a familiar selfie. She was dressed in Amber's clothes, taking her own picture in the mirror. Reaching out with an unsteady hand, she grabbed the photo. But her hand passed right through the image. It shimmered and vanished. The rest of the Polaroids also faded away, swallowed by the dark nothing.

It dawned on Max that she was going in circles. "I already told you. Even if I could figure out a way to convince Chloe to not sacrifice herself—before I even reunited with her no less—then when I return to the present, Arcadia Bay will be… gone. How does that help?"

"Then do not return."

Max's brow furrowed as she contemplated the words. She shook her head. "My powers don't work that way. I can only spend a few minutes in the past." Silence. "You know what, fuck this stupid ask questions game of yours! Tell me how to get Chloe back! That's what I want! That's my truth!"

"If your power is not enough, borrow some from those who wish to see you succeed."

* * *

All at once, the darkness around Max fell away, replaced by an all-too-familiar stinging rain and a haunting roar of wind. The present eluded her as she found herself again tormented by the storm. Then, pain. Searing, unbearable pain tore through Max. She tried to call out, but could only manage a throaty groan.

"Max! Oh, God, Max!"

Opening her eyes, she found Chloe's face above her. Worry and panic occupied every inch of her perfect features, and the rain slicked those wonderful blue locks against her face. God was she beautiful.

"Jesus, fuck! Your arm!"

Max reached up, her arm protesting the movement every inch of the way. It felt heavier than the whole rest of her body. Her fingers caressed Chloe's cheek. It felt so warm. As much as she wanted to stay just like that, forever, the weight of her arm became too much, and it slipped away, leaving a crimson trail along Chloe's face.

Having run out of strength, Max's head fell to the side. There she saw it. Just off from the Arcadia Bay docks. The tornado. It was coming right for her. Right for Chloe.


	6. Infinity

"Chloe…" Max sat up. Blinking away the light, she struggled to figure out exactly where she was. Then she met Frank's very unhappy face. She was in his bed. Again. "Shit."

"Took the words right outta my goddamn mouth."

"S-sorry… again." Even though she felt bad for making Frank carry her back here again, Max couldn't help but to let her mind wander back to the black void and her vision. It had to have been a vision. Dreams don't hurt, and the way she felt in that vision was nothing short of excruciating. She would go through that pain a thousand more times, a million, just to see Chloe's face again. To hear her voice—touch her skin.

"So just what the fuck are you? A witch?"

"A… What?" Max tried to pry her attention back to the present. A task that proved ever more difficult for her recently.

"That shit you pulled back at the cemetery," Frank pointed at her. "It had to have been you."

Max shook her head but made sure not to return her gaze to Frank. "What? You mean my meltdown? I-I'm pretty sure I passed out." Reaching out with her left hand, she grabbed her right arm. She rubbed her arm, for what little comfort it offered her. "I might've had a bit of a breakdown." She couldn't imagine how it must've looked to Frank. Between the voices talking to her and all the memories they kept forcing on her, even Max didn't really know what her body was doing in the present. "Thanks for carrying me back here… again. Are we at Blackwell?"

"We're at the Two Whales," Frank said. "And you still haven't answered my fucking question."

"I… uh," Max stammered, her addled mind struggling to keep her in the conversation, even though all her thoughts kept trailing back to what just happened inside her head. "What question?"

Frank clicked his tongue as he leaned back in his chair. "Just… Fuck it." He got up. "It's lunchtime and I'm gonna get some grub. Your scrawny ass is outta here." Staring hard at Max, he motioned toward the front of the RV.

Not really following everything going on, Max relented. She got up and made her way off of the RV. Again, the light blinded her and she raised her arm to shield her eyes. Squinting away from the sun, she found Frank locking the door to the RV.

Frank gave the door a yank to make sure it was secure, then he turned back to Max. "Tell ya what, scrawny. You tell me what that shit was, and I'll treat you to lunch. Even drive you back to Blackwell after." He pointed an accusing finger at her. "Otherwise, I never wanna see your freaky ass again."

Her mind drifting away from her commune with her spirit animal and that vision where she actually got to touch Chloe one more time, Max found the presence of mind to check her phone. It was 12:53. The last bus to Blackwell before afternoon classes already left some ten minutes ago. She looked back up at an expectant Frank. It didn't take her long to come to a decision. She didn't care if Frank thought she was crazy. Besides, it had almost been a full day since she last had a bite to eat.

"I'll tell you whatever you wanna know," she offered, though her eyes dodged his stare, instead settling on her phone.

"Good. I wanna hear this shit," Frank said as he walked by and up to the diner.

Max absentmindedly followed after, her gaze stuck to her phone.

[Warren]

[Max, I heard you took off with a drug dealer or something. Is everything okay?]

[Are you safe?]

[?]

[Talk to me, Max. Please!]

Word certainly got around Arcadia Bay quickly. Max was tempted to think that there were no secrets in the sleepy, seaside town, but she knew better. Arcadia Bay was a place with sinister secrets abound.

_Better text him back before he calls the police._

[Max]

[I'm fine. I'm at the Two Whales. I'll be back soon. TTYL]

[Warren]

[You better!]

[I'll be waiting.]

Dog, was he clingy. Max pocketed her phone just as she slid into the booth. Frank hadn't led her to her favorite, instead dragging her to the far corner where he took the window seat.

Before Frank had a chance to say anything, a waitress showed up with a pair of menus. It wasn't Joyce, thank goodness. That would've been a painful conversation. Frank didn't even look at the menu, ordering his usual with a coffee. Following suit, Max ordered a burger and fries with a diet soda.

The moment the waitress left with the menus, Frank leaned forward, putting both forearms on the table. "So… out with it."

Max turned her gaze to her lap, her mind struggling to come up with a good way to say, _I'm not crazy. I just had an argument with a bunch of voices in my head_. "I guess… I had a nervous breakdown? I kept having these flashbacks, and then… then I guess I passed out."

"That—" Frank leaned back. Max was about to ask what was going on when the waitress returned with their drinks and an assurance that the food wouldn't be too long. While Frank ignored his drink, Max grabbed hers, stuck a straw in it, and started sipping away. "That shit wasn't what I was talking about," he said, leaning forward as before. "I'm talking about you making the whole fucking world stop."

Reacting viscerally, her body inhaled and then coughed her drink back up, spilling it all down the front of her shirt. "Shit!" she cursed between coughs, all the while her mind went spinning out of control. Max slammed the drink down on the table as she got up and bolted to the bathroom. The sounds of Frank's protests barely registered.

_What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck!_

Max gripped the sink for support as she grabbed paper towels to sop up the mess all over her shirt. After fervently scrubbing at her shirt all the while swearing under her breath, she reached a point where she resigned, throwing out the fraying and soaked bits of paper.

She then cranked the sink to full blast before cupping her hands under the icy water and bringing it to her face. The action did little to settle her spiraling thoughts as she looked at the scared shitless girl in the mirror.

_Did I stop time again? But how could Frank even know if I did?_

Several deep breaths did nothing to calm her down. If anything, it made it worse as she felt like she just couldn't get enough air. "Not again," she muttered, almost begging. As her heart began to beat in her ears, she reached into her bag. After a minute of fishing, she found it.

The yellow tablet.

She held it in her trembling hands for a minute before grabbing the tip and pulling. A fourth of the tablet came free, though she nearly dropped both parts into the damned sink her hands were shaking so much. She stared at the fragment between her fingers. She could almost hear Frank's words in her head, " _A quarter shouldn't hit your head too much, but it'll help chill your ass out_."

_You better be right._

She placed the tablet on her tongue before dipping her hand beneath the faucet and bringing the drink to her lips. For such a little thing, it was hard to swallow. Max put the rest of the pill in her bag as she tried to calm her heart and ease her mind.

All in all, Max probably spent a good twenty minutes in the bathroom. But, either due to the pill or her own willpower, the racing thoughts and her pounding heart finally slowed down enough for her to pull herself together. But damn if the ordeal didn't leave her exhausted. Still, she had to figure out just what was going on.

Frank was still sitting there, though he had his attention on the food in front of him. Max's plate sat there, just waiting for her to return. Fear pricked at her heart as the hair on the back of her neck stiffened. She couldn't just run away. If what Frank said was true, then there was something else going on with her powers.

"Sorry," Max said in greeting as she slid into the booth.

"I'm starting to get really tired of your bullshit."

"I… I needed to take a chill pill," Max said, picking up a fry from her plate. Despite all the shit, there was no denying that she was absolutely starving. After scarfing it down, she continued, "I didn't realize I did that. At the graveyard, I mean."

Frank pointed his fork at her. "But you know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about it. And don't fucking deny it. You didn't exactly play things close to the vest."

"Yeah," Max muttered, her fingers picking at her damp shirt. "So… what was it like for you? Like, being in a photo, but with everything a little out of focus and all the colors a little faded?"

A knowing grin appeared on Frank's lips.. "It _was_ you. What the fuck was that?"

Max toyed with her burger, her teeth begging for it, but Frank wasn't about to give her a moment to tear into it. "I stopped time. And don't ask me how. I don't know. I only did it one other time." As soon as she finished, she lifted the burger and took a ravenous bite. It was good, if not a little cold from being neglected for so long.

"St-stopped time!" Frank hissed, slamming his hands on the table. He leaned back, a hand rubbing across his face. "Fuck." He then gestured an arm in Max's direction. "And you. Just… like it's nothing! What the fuck?"

After swallowing, Max washed it down with the drink she was still angry at. She put the drink down, only to glance up and find Frank staring hard at her. "What?"

"What the fuck, 'what?'" Frank slid his mostly-finished plate aside. He leaned in uncomfortably close. "You. Stopped. Time."

Feeling a lot less hungry under such close scrutiny, Max leaned back to put a bit of distance between them. She shrugged. "I guess. I don't remember anything."

Frand pointed a firm finger at her. "No way. You don't get to pull that shit on me. You just described it perfectly."

Max grabbed her drink again. This time using it as more of a shield between her and Frank than for any other purpose. "I really don't remember anything from the cemetery. I was completely out of it." She played with her straw, clinking what remained of the ice around in the glass. "The only thing I don't understand is why you weren't affected."

Frank's brow furrowed. "What do you mean I wasn't affected? That was some of the trippiest shit I've ever seen. And I've fucking been around."

"You should've been frozen, too," Max replied. She tried to remember, she really did. But no matter how hard she tried, the only thing in her mind was her past assaulting her while those voices barked. "I don't think… No. I've never had anyone other than me actually witness that kind of thing."

Finally, Frank withdrew back to his seat, sitting firmly in the booth. "So, maybe I'm immune to your damn witchcraft."

"No. That's not it." Max said as she set the drink down and went back to her plate.

"Yeah, I don't like how fucking sure you seem of that," Frank replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

The only explanation that made sense is that Max used her power to keep him outside of the time freeze. But how? Why? Max chanced a look up to find Frank looking grumpy as ever, staring hard at her. "Do you remember what I was doing or saying when it happened?"

"You're asking me?"

Max shook her head. "I really don't remember."

"Okay, so Pompidou and I were looking for you so we could bounce. I spotted you, stumbling around and holding your head." He shrugged. "I didn't know if you were having a really bad trip or some shit. Then, you look up, right fucking at me. You held out your arm and boom! I felt it in my chest."

"Your chest?" Max asked, her hand covering her still half-full mouth.

Frank gave a nod. "Like a goddamn bomb went off."

It struck Max as strange, given all her powers always hit her in the head, making it feel like it was about to explode. Especially when she pushed too hard. Her hand moved to her upper lip. She tapped there, just below her nose to feel it dry. "Was my nose bleeding?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I half-expected your ass to be dead by the time I got there."

How could she have possibly used her power that much and not even realize it? "Wait…" Max stiffened up as it came rushing back to her. She _did_ see Frank coming when those voices were overwhelming her. "I remember. I was reaching out to you because I wanted you to help me." Her eyes dared to glance over at Frank.

"Help with what?"

In spite of her best efforts, Max just lacked the ability to shrink into nothing right there in her seat. "I was having flashbacks," she muttered, trying to paint the rosiest picture she could. Certainly sounded better than the batshit crazy stuff that actually happened. "I couldn't make them stop. Right after I reached out for you, I flashed back to the only other time I… well I stopped time."

"Yeah? And…?"

"And that's what happened. I must've accidentally stopped time because of the flashbacks, and I somehow managed to keep you from being affected because I wanted you to help me. That's it." Max shoved her plate away. "Can you take me back to Blackwell, now?"

"No," Frank shook his head. "No way. You're not getting off that easily."

Max hugged herself, shrinking under Frank's demanding gaze. "You said all I had to do was tell you what happened. I just did."

"Fuckin' witch," Frank muttered shaking his head as he got up out of the booth and headed for the counter.

Finally alone, Max's mind went right back to her spirit animal in that dark abyss. One thing stood out, echoing over and over in her mind, " _Then do not return._ "

Was it possible? Could she find the right Polaroid and go back to that moment and start her life again from that point? Some point in the past before Chloe ever would've died. She could still save her. But how could she do something so impossible?

_**With your power, it is not.** _

"Shit." Max held her head in her hands. So much for the voices being chased away by her spirit animal.

_Wait… didn't the doe say something about borrowing power from those that want me to succeed? All these voices have been on about is beating fate… Getting Chloe back._

"You ready?" Frank's voice broke Max's train of thought.

"Yeah," Max said before taking one last bite from her half-finished burger and scooting out of her booth.

_Just what are those voices?_

"All right, just how serious were you about taking that 'chill pill?'" Frank asked as he fished his keys from his pocket.

Max's head hung just a bit lower. "I… I took a piece like you said." As much as it pained her to admit it, aside from feeling a little tired, it wasn't like that groggy, weak fog from—

_No. Stop._

Taking a deep breath in and out, Max tried to clear her thoughts. "I think it helped."

"Good. Like hell am I gonna let a fucking neurotic witch in here."

"Frank," Max said as she followed him onto the RV, "can I ask you to not tell anyone about this?"

"Promise not to turn me into a frog or light my ass on fire or whatever, and you've got a deal," Frank said with a chuckle as he started the RV. "Who would believe me, anyway? Real life fuckin' witch!"

His enthusiasm made Max's stomach turn. It reminded her just a little too much of Chloe when she learned about her powers. Max closed her eyes, holding onto those better memories with a new sense of purpose.

_I'm coming for you, Chloe Price. I don't know how, yet. But I'm not gonna let anything stand in my way. Least of all fucking fate._


	7. Away from Me

Frank, not wanting to be seen dropping Max off, and Max not wanting to be seen being dropped off by Frank, agreed for Max to be let out a block away from campus. As soon as she hit the street, Max whipped out her phone. 02:02 PM. Great. She'd already missed not only gym, but music, too. Not that it wasn't totally worth it.

The doe could've easily taken her to that void anywhere, of that Max was certain. She couldn't figure out why it went through the song and dance of leading her to Chloe's grave. It wasn't painful, thinking about that grave, for the first time since… ever. Because it wasn't permanent. Chloe wasn't gone forever.

_I will take her back!_

Maybe that was why. Her spirit animal wanted to show her "her truth." And that truth had everything to do with the girl who was just temporarily occupying her grave. "I'll drag you back from hell itself if I have to," Max muttered aloud as she came upon the main steps to campus.

She made it about halfway up before she stopped in her tracks. There, right in the middle of the courtyard, stood Principal Wells. "So good of you to rejoin us, Ms. Caulfield. I was beginning to wonder if you would grace us with your presence at all today."

_I am so screwed._

Max just hung her head. "Do you want me to go to class, or…"

"My office. Now." Turning on his heel, he led the way to the main building.

Objectively, this was nothing. Not even a bump in the road on the grand scale of things. It had nothing to do with her powers or how she'd get Chloe back. Still, her emotions begged to differ. She felt like a death row inmate, being led to the electric chair. Keeping her mouth sealed tight, she followed the principal into his office.

"Have a seat," Wells said as he rounded the table and sat at his, according to Chloe, surprisingly comfy chair. Instead of addressing her directly, he moved over and picked up his phone. "Yes. Are you still there?" A pause. "Good, I'll put you on." He pressed a button on the handset, and replaced the receiver. The buzzing from the machine told Max that the speakerphone was on. "And I apologize about the wait. I honestly thought Max would come to her senses a little sooner."

"Is she there?" Max's heart dropped at the sound of her mother's voice.

"She is," Wells said.

"Max?" This time, her dad's voice came through the machine.

Words failing her, all Max could think to say was, "Mom? Dad?"

"I would like to thank the both of you for making time for this meeting, though I would have preferred that it not have to happen at all," Wells said, setting a laser-focused stare on Max. "In just this past week, one Maxine Caulfield has missed three classes, not counting the two she missed today alone. She also has several tardies and multiple reports of her leaving class abruptly and not returning for some time, if at all. In addition, virtually all of her teachers have expressed concern that she has become even more withdrawn than usual, and in the case of photography, has stopped participating in class altogether."

Max couldn't help but to wonder if Captain Chloe would've been proud or ashamed of her first mate following so closely in her footsteps.

"Max," the principal continued, "do you feel that these reports are unfair or inaccurate?"

Keeping her gaze firmly locked on her hands, balled up in her lap, she shook her head.

"Maxine?" Vanessa's voice called out from the phone.

"No," she said.

"Perhaps more alarmingly, there is a rumor that you left school grounds with a known troublemaker today," Wells said.

"So?" Max replied.

"Max!"

"Maxine!"

Both of her parents admonished her at once. That didn't matter, she had a point to make. "Chloe Price was a 'known troublemaker,' too!"

"And look where that got her," Wells replied.

Max was out of her chair in an instant. Her hands slammed down on his desk. "You take that back! Take it back right now!" She leaned in, not shying away from his disapproving stare.

Wells raised his voice, "Ms. Caulfield, return to your seat."

Max didn't budge. "Take. It. Back."

"Maxine, I know you're hurting right now, but please try to stay calm," Vanessa said.

Wells closed his eyes, breathing a long breath in and out. "I will admit that, perhaps, I overstepped. What happened to Ms. Price was an unavoidable tragedy. I was out of line."

Grinding her teeth, Max forced herself away from the desk and sat back down. "It wasn't unavoidable," she said. "You let Nathan get away with murder for years."

"Max!" Ryan's voice shouted. "What has gotten into you?"

"I won't let anyone talk about Chloe that way! No one!" Max knew full well she was just digging herself a deeper hole, but she couldn't stop herself. This asshole may not have been directly responsible for Chloe's death—hell, if fate had anything to say about it, it would've found another way to kill her—but he couldn't just turn a blind eye to everything and then blame Chloe for it. No way in hell would Max ever let that pass.

"I-I'm so sorry Mr. Wells. This is so unlike Maxine," Vanessa said.

Trembling head to toe, Max shook her head. "No. This is me. This is me defending Chloe. And nothing in heaven or hell can stop me from doing that. _Nothing_."

Wells sighed again. "It seems I have touched a raw nerve. Why don't we forget this little… indiscretion and move on, shall we?"

Max nodded, not trusting her voice.

"I'm so sorry, Principal Wells," Ryan said.

"So, Max, why don't you tell us where you went today that was so important that you miss all your classes?" Wells asked.

Though she had managed to reign in her anger, Max still felt a bitterness she couldn't quite place. "I went to see her. It… it was one week today."

Wells leaned in. "I'm not following. Just who did you—"

"Chloe," Ryan said, cutting Wells off. "Who else would she be talking about?"

Max almost smiled. At least someone was in her corner.

"Maxine, I know… I don't. I don't know how you feel right now, and I'm so sorry. But why couldn't you wait until tomorrow instead of missing class to… visit her?" Vanessa asked.

"Because tomorrow is not one week," Ryan replied. "Tomorrow is one week and one day."

"I think the picture here is starting to get clearer," Wells said, sitting back in his chair. "You know, the loss of a loved one is an excusable absence. Perhaps everyone here has underestimated just how profoundly this tragedy has affected Max. Why don't we do this? Instead of entering all of this into the permanent record, I will simply make a note that her academics have suffered due to a personal loss, and I will excuse Max from class for the next week so that she may try to work through this. Does that seem fair?"

"More than fair," Vanessa said.

"Thank you, Principal Wells," Ryan said.

"Max?" Wells prodded.

"I-I don't need…"

"You will accept this offer, or I enter everything into your record and you will be suspended for the next week," Wells said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Like that was a choice at all. "I… accept."

Wells scooted in to his desk, leaning over toward the phone. "I cannot force you to do anything specific, but I highly recommend getting Max to see a professional as soon as possible."

"Of course, thank you again," Vanessa replied.

Max zoned out while her parents and the principal went through their platitudes. There were a bevy of texts from her parents. Mostly telling her to shut up and apologize. Not after what he said. How could he talk about Chloe like that when he let that sick fuck and Nathan do as they pleased right under his nose? At least David fucking tried. And now her parents would be here tomorrow to drag her back to Seattle for a week of therapists and her parents patronizing her every minute of the damn day.

_I don't have time for this._

_**You do not.** _

Breathing deeply in and out, she ignored the voice. If only they would bother her when she was alone, she could actually talk to them and figure out just what all this crazy shit was about.

Before she knew it, the principal was escorting her out of the building, encouraging her to take it easy and pack her dorm. If she didn't know better, she'd have sworn he was eager to be rid of her. He probably was. Just a thorn in his side tearing at his flesh to remind him that he fucked up royally. How did he even still have a job after what happened to Chloe?

Max didn't even make it to the fountain before her phone started ringing. Who would call her? Everyone knew that she always preferred texts. Always. Fishing the phone from her bag, her heart sank at the name displayed on the screen: Mom.

Hugging herself with one arm and using the other to hold the phone up to her ear, Max sat down on the edge of the fountain. "Hey, Mom," she said, her voice small.

"Maxine Caulfield! What in the devil has gotten into you?" When Max didn't reply, she went on, "I have never seen you talk to anyone that way. Do you want to lose your scholarship?"

"I don't… care," she replied. Though her voice was hollow and uncertain, those words couldn't have rung more true. She came to Blackwell for two reasons: photography and Chloe. For the moment, Chloe was dead. And now… now she couldn't even bring herself to take a single photo.

"Maxine!"

"Just… transfer me back to Seattle. But I need a few days. Can you and dad wait a few days to come get me? I'm not ready to leave tomorrow."

"Max…" This time, her mother's voice was devoid of the stern admonishment. "You don't mean that."

Tears rolled down Max's face as she hunched over. "I can't take pictures anymore. I-I can't!" She stopped, sniffling and sobbing. "Chloe's dead. There's nothing here for me anymore. Just… just give me a week to get everything packed, and I'll come home. For good."

_Seriously, Arcadia Bay. Fuck you._

_**Pain abounds here. A vortex of suffering emanating from cruel fate.** _

"I gotta go." Max clicked the phone off, not even waiting for her mother's reply.

She stood, looking all around. Confident she was alone, she called out, "Just who are you? Why do you keep talking to me?"

_**We know your pain.** _

_Wait._

For the first time she could remember, the voices weren't just echoing in her head. She could've sworn there was a direction to them. Following the sounds, she called out again. "Are you the ones who can help me? Help me to 'not return?'"

_**If you intend to conquer mighty fate, our strength is your strength.** _

"You know, whoever the hell you are, you seem awfully interested in fate," Max replied, still briskly walking after the voices. "If by 'conquer fate' you mean 'save Chloe,' then you don't even have to ask. I'll do whatever it takes. With or without you."

_**We can help you save her.** _

"Then tell me what to do," Max said as she walked into the courtyard in front of the dorms. "How do I 'not return,' and how can I save everyone from the storm?

_**Some things you must discover yourself.** _

Max stopped. She was on the path furthest from the dorm's entrance. Before her stood the Tobanga, off in the distance. "You're Tobanga?"

_**No.** _

It might've said "no," but there was no doubt that voice came from the totem pole. "If not Tobanga, then who are you, really?"

_**We are the spirits of this land.** _

_**We have witnessed wise fate's purpose twisted to the sinister.** _

_**We have seen in you the power to defeat fate.** _

_**We must know that it is possible.** _

"Why?"

_**Greedy fate steals away innocence and life.** _

_**Merciless fate brings pain and decay.** _

_**Angry fate begs violence and destruction.** _

_**Cold fate ignores hope and determination.** _

Together, the voices spoke as one: _**Fate must be conquered! Bring her back!**_

Hiking up the trail, Max reached up and set a hand on the totem pole. She closed her eyes, and it was like the whole rest of the world vanished. She again stood in the void. "I will save Chloe. No matter what. I just need a way to get to her."

_**Your power will take you there.** _

Before Max, she saw Polaroids floating by. Selfies. This time, when she reached out, she was able to actually hold the picture. In her hand was the missing photograph. The one with the blue butterfly. "Wait." Her trepidation broke her focus, causing the picture to slip from her hand and flutter away into nothing. "I have to save Chloe, but I can't let everyone in Arcadia Bay die."

_**Our power grows weaker as the poisons and ravages of man defile the lands.** _

"Are you saying I don't have time, or that you can't help me with the storm?"

_**Both.** _

"How… how much time do I have?"

_**When the moon wanes, it is too late.** _

Max grabbed her phone, but here in the void, nothing she did could stir it to life. "When? When is that?"

_**Two nights.** _

"Fuck! Fuck!" Max paced around in the nothing. She'd never figure out a way to stop the storm in that time. Worse, she didn't have any photos to go back with. A few days ago, in a fit of rage and despair, she ripped down all her Polaroids. Threw them all out. There were some from Joyce that she didn't dare part with, but that was so far back.

"You can always take new pictures."

Max stopped her manic pacing at the sound of her own voice. "New pictures? How would that help?"

The doe appeared before her. "A picture represents a moment in time, a view of your own past. It does not matter when it is taken, but what memories it holds."

Again, the Polaroids appeared. But this time, something was off. As they zipped by, Max realized that not one of them actually existed. Pictures of her and Chloe at the pool. In her truck. In her room. "So just… recreate a picture? Something from the past?"

The doe vanished. "Wait! What about the storm?"

_**Let it come.** _

"No! I won't let anyone die!"

_**Two nights.** _

_**We will help you to save her.** _

_**Forsake the rest.** _

"Hey! That thing is off limits!"

The blackness snapped away at the shout. Shaking her head, Max looked to find her hand still resting on the totem pole. Turning, Max saw a member of Blackwell Security approaching her. Too bad it wasn't David. "Sorry," Max muttered as she stepped away from Tobanga, if that was its real name. The moment her hand left, the world slipped away again.

* * *

A pounding pain ripped through Max's skull. For a moment, that is the only thing her mind could register, but slowly, her senses came to her. A powerful rain pelted her as an immense wind threatened to knock her down.

_Where…?_

Max looked up, and there it was. The storm. It was right in front of her. She found herself standing on the last plank of the dock, the sea churning violently around her as the tornado rapidly approached.

"Max!"

The very sound of the voice resonated through her, hitting her with more force than the wind and rain. Spinning around, she saw Chloe halfway down the docks, running after her. Right toward the tornado! Terror seized her heart as the realization dawned on her.

_She's going to die!_

Max sprinted after her. "You can't be here!"

* * *

"Hey, are you okay?"

Max found herself kneeling on the ground with the security guard standing over her. Lingering fear didn't fade, like from a dream. It stayed, gripping her heart tight. "She's going to die… again!"

"Miss?"

A heaviness settled in her chest as her heart continued its desperate churning. "I-I'm okay," Max lied as she forced herself off the ground. Both arms wrapped around herself as she tried to escape, but the security guard followed after her.

"I gotta write you up for this," he said, stepping in front of her. "I'll need to see your student I.D."

Trembling hands brought her bag before her. She fumbled around inside as she tried her damnedest to keep it together. After finding the card, she dropped it twice before freeing it from the bag. There, she saw her own photo, but it wasn't the stoic head shot. It was a black and white photo of herself bound and half-conscious. _His_ voice barked at her. Max struggled for all her drug-addled body would allow. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't break through the tape. She couldn't keep _him_ away. The needle pressed to her neck.

"Calm down! I'm trying to help!"

Reality snapped back. Max was back at Blackwell, curled up on the ground kicking at a Blackwell security officer. The consuming panic barely abated, though she did have the presence of mind to stop trying to kick him.

The officer held his hands up, slowly approaching. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Maxine, I promise."

Max's mind continued to race, unable to hold onto a single thought for more than a moment, but she managed to nod. Breaths came in heavy and each inhale made her pounding heart hurt. When the officer bent down and held out a hand, she flinched away. She sat up on her own, tightly clutching her arms around herself.

To the security guy's credit, he kept his distance. "I just want to make sure you're okay," he said, his tone soft. "Did you take anything today?"

Of course, the first thing he thought was that she was on drugs. The fact that she had taken a bit of Xanax aside, it was still an insulting leap of logic. Max shook her head. "F-flashbacks," she muttered. Her eyes deliberately closing, she exhaled a shuddering breath.

The guard knelt down by her, a healthy gap between them, as he held out her I.D. "Here."

Max reached out to take it, her hand trembling so much that she could only just hold onto it. Voice failing her, Max just nodded, hoping to get the sentiment of "thanks" across. At least her heart's violent tattoo abated enough that it no longer thumped her chest with pain on each beat. It felt like she could breathe better, too.

He just knelt there a minute before leaning back and fully sitting down. "Do you need me to call someone for you or…?"

She gave her head a tight, quick shake. An attempt to accent it with a "no" died in her tight throat, leaving as little more than a whimper. And so they sat in an uncomfortable silence only broken by the sounds of birds and squirrels and Max's erratic breathing for what felt like hours. Finally, the episode seemed to recede enough for her to actually speak. "I-I think I'm okay, now."

"Are you sure?" the security guard asked, his gaze scanning her for any deception.

A firm nod, and Max launched herself forward and to her feet. "Yes." Not daring to take so much as a glance at her I.D., she tucked it into her bag with honed muscle memory. "And, sorry. I, uh, I didn't mean to kick you or anything." Her arms found themselves around her again.

The security guy got up, a sluggish climb compared to Max's rise. He patted himself off, though he kept his eyes securely fixed on Max's face. "Panic attack, huh? Guess it makes more sense than a bad trip," he said, scratching at his neck. "Never seen someone sober up that quick. I'll let the kicks pass, but I still gotta write you up for messing with that thing." He pointed up at Tobanga for emphasis.

"Thanks," Max muttered, ducking her head a bit as she turned and retreated toward the dorms. The moment she found a water fountain, she reached inside her bag and found the remains of her Xanax. Part of her felt angry that the pill didn't ward off her episode, but another thought tore at her. Frank said it might not be enough just to use a quarter.

_Did you help at all?_

The little yellow pill said nothing.

Trembling hands fumbled with the pill for a few moments before it fell into the water fountain. Her heart seized in her chest as it bounced toward the drain. She fumbled after it with her clumsy hands, but couldn't catch it before it hit the drain. By some miracle, it landed perpendicular to the grate, only teetering on the brink of the abyss.

Max silently told herself not to fuck this one up as she reached with shaky hand after the tablet. Somehow, her klutzy fingers took hold of the pill, rescuing it from falling into the drain. No longer trusting her hands, she brought the tablet to her mouth. The grooves separating the pill into sections easily fit into her teeth, and she bit a piece off before washing it down with a spray from the fountain. It still seemed to catch in her throat a bit, but it didn't bother her as much as last time.

Down to just half a pill, Max tucked the Xanax into her bag before heading toward the stairwell. With her episode well-enough behind her, her mind trailed back to the conversation she had with Tobanga—or whatever its name really was. Could she really just recreate a photo from her memory and use it to go back? But even if she went back, how could she possibly stop the storm from wiping out all of Arcadia Bay?

The doe's words echoed in her head, " _With your strength, there is never too much to ask for._ "

"But how?"

Her train of thought derailed as her phone went off. "This again?" Pulling out her phone, she found her dad to be the one calling this time. "Shit."

Taking a deep breath, she picked up the line as she headed into the stairwell. "Hi, Dad."

"Max! Your mother and I have been trying to get a hold of you for like 20 minutes!" Ryan's voice admonished from the other end of the line.

Did it ring during her episode? She couldn't remember. "Sorry. I was… distracted." Close enough to the truth.

"Your mother told me what you said, and we agree that we cannot just leave you there in Arcadia Bay by yourself. I will drive down to pick you up tomorrow. If you really feel like you don't want to attend Blackwell anymore… we can discuss that at length at home."

"No!" Max refused. "Just… How about Sunday? Can you wait until Sunday to pick me up?"

"Why Sunday?"

"I just… there are a couple of loose ends I need to tie up before I go, okay? I'm not even gonna ask for a week. Just two nights."

Max heard her dad sigh before replying, "I'll talk to your mother."

"Thanks, Dad. But I really gotta go. There's… there's a lot to take care of."

"I love you, Max."

"Love you, too. Bye."


	8. Our Destiny

Max knelt on her bed, staring at the board that once housed her Polaroid collage. Only two photos adorned the wall. The one where Chloe and Max were dressed as pirates, and the last photo William ever took. Between them, a sheet tacked up with the primary objective: _Save Chloe_.

Below that, she had three categories that needed to be fulfilled to make her objective. First, was _A Way to the Past_. This was subdivided into two groups: _Existing Photos and Recreated Photos_. Her fervent search through her dorm room turned up precious little. She really did have just the two from her childhood. Nothing from her time in Blackwell was left. If she wanted to return to anytime soon, she would have to figure out how to recreate a photo.

Below that section was the big one: _The Storm_. If she could return to the week with Chloe, she knew exactly when it would hit. But if she returned to an earlier time, then would the storm keep the same schedule? Or would the countdown to armageddon start the moment she stepped into the past? And none of that spoke to just what to do about it.

Finally, the tools at hand. _Powers_ subdivided into _Stop Time, Rewind, and Photo Flashback_. How could she possibly use her powers to stop a record-shattering tornado?

The last two sections proved the most difficult, so she focused on the first section. No photos existed here that she could use. So she would have to recreate a photo. Or would she?

Moving her hand, she let her fingers trace over the label " _Existing Photos_."

She jumped off her bed and went for her bag. Digging out her phone, she brought up her texts with her dad.

[Max]

[I know this is really not the time for me to be asking for favors, but it's really important. Can you and Mom go through my old polaroids there? I'm looking for selfies. It's really important. Please let me know what you find, okay? xomaxo]

With a sigh, she tossed the phone onto her nightstand. None of this was getting her closer to the real problem.

_How can you possibly stop a fucking tornado?_

Just as Max was about to flop down on her bed and waste what little time she had left pondering how long it might take to find every single person in Arcadia Bay and convince them to leave with however many rewinds it took, her one-woman strategy session was interrupted by a thumping on her door. She had half a heart to ignore it. But usually, this sort of thing just got louder and more annoying.

Opening the door only a crack, Max peeked out to see Warren standing there. "Warren? What are you doing here?"

Another voice answered. "We came to make sure you were okay." Fully opening the door, Max found Kate standing there by Warren. "You missed all your classes today and I—we—were worried about you."

"Max, you haven't answered any of my texts or anything! I was convinced you got kidnapped or something," Warren said.

"Can we come in, please?" Kate asked, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. "We just want to talk."

Max couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as she looked at Kate's pleading eyes. "Sorry. I didn't mean to freak anyone out. I was just… dealing with stuff." Stepping by, she held out an arm, inviting the duo in.

Kate led Warren over to the couch and the duo sat down as Max closed the door. "Dude, what's with the collage?" Warren's voice brought Max's attention right back to where it was a minute ago.

"Shit." Max shook her head. "Just a project I'm working on. I don't suppose your super-brain knows how to stop a tornado?"

"Not really," Warren said, not taking his eyes off the chart.

Kate cleared her throat as she clasped her hands in her lap. "Max. We didn't just come here to make sure you were okay. We are your friends and we love you." Warren fidgeted at that, his face flushing. "We want you to know that we are here for you, and we will do whatever it takes to try to make things better for you."

"Yeah," Warren said, thumbing over at Kate. "We're totally here for you. Just name whatever it is that'll make you feel better. We'll do what we can to make that happen.

Max closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh. This sounded like an intervention. In a way, it was. "Look, I'm sorry I scared you two with the way I've been acting. I just…" Max held up her hands with a shrug, letting the gesture speak where words wouldn't. "The only thing I want right now is Chloe."

Kate and Warren's eyes trailed above Max's head, reading the title of her little chart, no doubt. The weight of the situation fell on her in waves. At this point, did it even matter who knew about her powers? Two days and this reality would be another bitter memory. "Kate, did you… did you tell Warren the story I told you this morning?"

"I… I told him about the story," Kate said. "I felt that… Max, that wasn't a fairy tale. I didn't feel right telling other people about those very personal things that happened."

Max sat there on her bed, her anxious hands between her knees rubbing together. "Yeah. Not a story. I thought… maybe if I got it off my chest, I'd feel better. I don't."

"No way, seriously?" Warren said, looking between Max and Kate. "You experienced two different realities simultaneously?"

It was all up there on the board behind her. She already told Warren about her powers once before. And poor Kate had all the other details, anyway.

_Fuck it._

"No. My powers don't work that way." Max felt all eyes leave her and settle on the board behind her. "If I have a picture from the past with me in it, I can visit that time in the past. Change the outcome. Change reality."

" _The Butterfly Effect_ ," Warren muttered.

"Yeah, but the parts I can't remember are after I return from the jump. Still a lot of nosebleeds, though. Whatever I did in this reality from the time Nathan… shot Chloe up to the funeral…" Max shook her head. "I don't remember any of it."

"Rewind… Stop time," Kate read the board behind Max.

Max nodded, keeping her gaze down. "Yeah. Those, too."

"No way," Warren launched himself off the couch. "You're telling me you're some kind of superhero?"

"No. I just fucked everything up," Max replied. "Or… I thought I did…" If what her spirit animal said was true, all the weird stuff wasn't because Max's powers were breaking reality. Fate was just winding up for its haymaker. With her mind made up, Max sprung from her seat and grabbed the box that Joyce had, apparently, given her. There, inside, was William's camera.

In her hands, it felt much heavier than she remembered. "I thought I caused the storm. That I twisted reality over and over and over and I broke it." Max held the camera up, facing her, but she just couldn't steady her hand. It trembled so much that she nearly dropped it. "Shit," she muttered as she set it over on her bed.

Max then turned to her bag. Her eyes flitted by her guests as she pulled the bag to her. Inside, she found the remnants of the Xanax. How long had it been since her last dose? A couple of hours? Another piece couldn't hurt. She broke off another piece and stuck it in her mouth before throwing the bag aside. Grabbing her drink, she swallowed the pill. It fell down her throat much more easily this time.

"Max, what are you doing?" Warren asked as he sat back down.

"I was just… I was thinking maybe I'd show you my powers, but I… I don't want to risk another catastrophe." Max pointed over at her camera. "I'd take a couple of selfies so I could just come back and stop myself if anything got out of hand, but… I can't."

"Do you think it would be easier if I took your photo?" Kate offered.

Max shook her head. "No, I think… that—that would be worse."

"Of course. Right," Kate said, hanging her head just a bit. "Sorry."

Warren leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees. "I just… I feel like I'm totally lost here."

Max sighed as she dragged herself back to sit on her bed. "Okay. Story first, then demonstration." A small pang of guilt shot through her as she looked over at Kate. "The whole story this time. Rewinding time and alternate realities and shit."

Though she intended to tell the whole story, she did still leave out bits here and there. Mostly unimportant things, though she did omit the ending to her time in the reality where William didn't die. Kate would never look at her the same if she told her the real reason that reality was dead to her. Thankfully, this time the story was much easier to tell, and not just thanks to the pill she took. Kate was able to help fill in some of the harder parts since she'd heard them before. The end, however, wasn't the same.

By the time she'd gotten to the end, Kate and Warren had both left the couch. Each one was at Max's side, doing everything they could to comfort her. "She said it was time to stop avoiding her fate. That Joyce and everyone deserved to live… so much more than her." Warren handed her a new tissue that she ripped from his hand to bring to her face. "She… she practically begged me to go back. Go back and let her die."

Warren put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Jesus, Max."

"The hardest thing I've ever had to do was… nothing. But I did it for her. Chloe died on that bathroom floor feeling like the whole world had abandoned her… and I let it happen." Throwing away any pretense of strength, she turned and grabbed Kate. Hugging her tight, Max broke down into a flurry of sobs and apologies.

It took several minutes for Max to calm down. Instead of pulling away, she just fell slack in Kate's arms. Confident that the tears had stopped, Kate leaned back with Max until her weight rested on her mattress. Then, she painstakingly detangled herself from Max as not to wake her.

"Poor thing," Kate whispered, teasing Max's bangs away from her face.

"You were not kidding about that story. No wonder Max has been so… Shit," Warren said, also keeping his voice low as he carefully got off the bed.

Kate let Warren's comment pass as she scooted off of the bed, too. "Max seems… different from this morning," she said, standing by Warren as they stared at the board.

"We gotta stop her," Warren replied, pointing at the chart. "Save Chloe… she's going to sacrifice all of Arcadia Bay just to get her back."

Max wouldn't do that. "She misses her," Kate said. "Look, she's trying to find a way to stop the storm. Didn't she ask you how to stop a tornado when we first came in?"

"Yeah, but there's no way. I mean, I can dig into it some, but stopping a tornado, even with superpowers would be… impossible."

"Maybe she could evacuate the town?" Kate offered.

Warren turned to Kate. "We're doing this? We're going to try to help Max put all of Arcadia Bay in danger."

Kate shook her head, an earnest smile gracing her lips. "No. We're going to help Max get Chloe back."

* * *

Max drew a sharp breath, breathing in the refreshing aroma of coffee. She found herself sprawled on her bed, with her legs dangling over the side. "What?"

"Sorry," Kate apologized as she stepped into the room with a coffee in each hand. "I tried to close the door quietly, but my hands are a little full."

Her weight shifting, Max rolled over and sat up. "I fell asleep?" No nightmares tormented her this time, at least. Probably the best sleep she'd had in a week.

"You've been out for like, two hours," Warren said. A glance over showed Warren sitting at her desk on her laptop.

_Must've been those pills. I'm still tired._

To dispel the last of her sleep, Max stretched. "You're both still here?"

"We wanted to help you," Kate said as she set a coffee by Warren, who accepted it with a "Thanks."

"I've been trying to study tornadoes. Gotta say, there really isn't a whole lot to be found," Warren said, leaning away from the computer to look at Max. "I think the thing we're really missing is you, Max. I mean, from what you told us about your powers in your story, they really can't affect anything other than you."

"They can't. Or, at least I thought so," Max replied, her attention drawing away from Warren and Kate and over to William's camera. Picking it up, she noticed that it didn't feel quite as heavy as before. She held it up with both hands. And there it stood, its eye staring right back at her own. Her finger rested on the button, not daring to press any further.

_Just do it, Max! You've done it a thousand times!_

She pulled the camera away, setting it by her. "I… today I accidentally froze time. Frank said that I kept him from being frozen, too."

"Accidently?" Kate asked.

"I was… struggling," Max replied, not even remotely wanting to go into further detail. "But yeah. Somehow I kept him from being affected."

Warren scooted the chair out a bit, inching just a bit closer to Max. "Do you think you could do the opposite? If you could only stop time for a single thing, you could wrap up the storm. Maybe long enough for an evacuation?"

Max shook her head. "That would take hours, at least. When I rescued Kate, I felt like my head was going to explode after just a couple of minutes."

"Well, other than the storm and the powers, there is one other thing on the chart. Warren and I couldn't completely figure it out," Kate said as she pointed up at the first section.

"That…" Max fell back onto her bed so that she was staring up at the ceiling. "I have to find just where to go back in time to. I threw out all my selfies, so I'm completely out of actual photos except the two up there. I was talking to my spirit animal—whole other story, don't ask—and it told me I might be able to recreate a photo and use that to go to a specific moment.

"Oh, shit!" Max shot up, reaching over and grabbing her phone.

She skipped down to find her dad's texts.

[Dad]

[I'll see what we can turn up.]

[I spoke with your mother at length about you coming home. I am coming to get you tomorrow afternoon. No arguments.]

"Shit."

[We turned up a whole box of photos. They go all the way back to when you were in Arcadia Bay as a child. What exactly were you looking for?]

[Max]

[Can you bring the whole box? I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it.]

"My dad's coming to take me back to Seattle tomorrow," Max said as she tossed the phone aside. "What am I going to do?"

"Whoa, Seattle?" Warren asked.

"Yeah. I might've had a, uh, small incident with the principal. He told me I could take a week of personal time or a week's suspension. My parents are totally freaked."

Warren looked over to Kate. She gave him a shrug and he turned back to Max. "You're coming back, right?"

"I'm not going… well… Let's just say yes. Next weekend," Max replied. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Where were we?"

"Um, you were talking about recreating a photo?" Kate offered from her spot on Max's couch, her hands still wrapped around her coffee.

Max's eyes trailed back over to her camera. "I only took a few selfies that week. I can't recreate anything with Chloe, either."

" _Photobomb!_ " Chloe's voice echoed from Max's memories.

Grabbing her camera, Max lifted it up in front of her.

_I'm coming for you, Chloe._

The shutter clicked, followed by the familiar noise of the rollers spitting out the Polaroid. The familiar sounds didn't fill her with disgust. Instead, it just reminded her of Chloe. She grabbed the Polaroid, shaking it out. Max looked over to find Kate smiling, though she kept silent, just taking a sip from her cup. Returning her smile, Max nodded. "I'm getting Chloe back."

Hopping up, she crossed the tiny space and dropped down next to Kate. Squeezing in close so that they were cheek-to-cheek, she took another selfie. "This one's yours," Max said as she freed the photo from the feed. "Keep it safe."

That one felt even better.

"You too, Warren," Max said as she got up and went over to her desk. Leaning forward, Max lowered herself so her face was practically resting on Warren's shoulder. She looped the camera around. Giving Warren a moment to adjust, and she took one more before setting the photo on the desk by Warren.

"Okay, selfies are… crap. Is my hair that bad?" Max lost her train of thought as soon as she picked up her first selfie from her bed. With the intent to fix the mop on her head, Max headed over and grabbed her brush. "Anyway, selfies are a way for me to go back and change things. Keep those safe in case I need to come back to now and stop myself from screwing shit up. Granted, I'm not going to have a lot of time, but who knows what might happen." Brush in hand, Max headed over to her mirror. She paused.

The idea was to show her abilities to Kate and Warren, right? Spinning back to face her friends, Max motioned to her hair in an exaggerated pose. "Pretty bad, right?"

Warren leaned back in the chair, raising an eyebrow. "This feels like a trick question."

Kate offered a warm smile. "You did just roll out of bed."

"Not gonna forget you totally wussed out, Warren the Weak," Max said as she went to work on hair. One good thing about her simple hairstyle was that it only took a minute or two to look presentable. Once she was sure it looked at least half-decent, she turned back around and held out an arm. Feeling a familiar pressure in her head, time danced backward. She kept it up until she saw herself make that pose again.

"How about now?" she asked as she resumed the pose.

Warren shook his head, his eyes bugging out. "What?"

"Uh… better?" Kate said, staring hard at her.

"I rewound," Max stated flatly.

"No way!" Warren said, giving his hands a single, sharp clap. The wide smile refused to leave his face. "Do more cool stuff!"

"She's not a toy, Warren," Kate admonished. When she turned back, there was a small smile on her lips as her eyes danced. "Thank you for showing us, Max. And for trusting us with all this. I know this wasn't easy for you."

"Powers, photos… This isn't hard, Kate. This is… me."


	9. The Secret Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for not updating in a timely manner. If it's any consolation, this chapter is roughly triple the size of my normal chapters. I do hope to resume a weekly update after this. Enjoy!

"You sure you're ready for this, Max?" Warren asked from behind the wheel of his car.

"It's fine," Max said as she got out. Holding up William's camera, she flashed a smile. "You two wait here. I just need to find the right clothes and take a quick photo." Turning back around with the well-wishes of Kate and Warren at her back, Max walked up to Chloe's door and gave a firm knock. When no immediate answer came, she briefly wondered if they were here too early on a Saturday. Max leaned over and peered in the glass. David didn't work weekends. Someone should've been home. Her fist pounded again on the door, louder this time.

Still, nothing.

"No one home?" Warren asked, leaning out the window.

"Maybe not," Max muttered. "How much you wanna bet Chloe's window is still open?" Without a hitch in her step, she walked over to the overhang leading up to Chloe's window. Though she had the will to break into Chloe's room, she did not have the height. "Warren, Kate! Come give me a boost!"

Kate stepped out from the passenger seat. "Should you really be yelling that?"

Not far behind, Warren got out and rounded the car. "Yeah, what if we get caught?"

"Rewind," Max said before pointing up. "Now help me get up there and keep an eye out, okay?"

Warren cupped his hands and held them out in front of himself. "Okay," he grunted as Max stepped in his hands and reached up onto the roof. He struggled to lift the girl until Kate stepped in, grabbing Max's other foot and hoisting her high with Warren. "But what if someone calls the cops instead of confronting us? You can't go back more than a couple of minutes, tops!"

Laying out on the roof, Max twisted back around to look down at her friends. She held out the Polaroid from last night. "Then I warn us not to try. Besides, as long as we don't actually break in, it's not breaking and entering. They can't send us to jail for just entering."

"It's called trespassing. Absolutely jailworthy," Warren said thumbing over in the direction of the car. "But Team Super Max has your back. I'll keep the getaway vehicle running."

Kate glanced over at Warren's retreat before giving Max a little wave. "Good luck!"

"Thanks, Kate," Max said before she turned her attention back to the matter at hand. She crawled over to Chloe's window. Pressing her hands to the cool glass, she pulled up and, sure enough, the window slid right open. As soon as she worked her way inside and got off Chloe's desk, she held out a hand.

_Just in case._

Max watched the window shut itself and a ghostly image of herself head backward across the roof and disappear. The rewind kept going until the pressure in her head hurt too much to continue. Grabbing her skull, she released the rewind. Each heartbeat sent a painful bloom through her head, but each one hurt just a bit less than the last. After recovering for a moment, she grabbed her phone and texted Kate.

[Max]  
[I'm not sure how far back that rewind went, but I'm inside. Just sit tight, okay? (^_-)]

"And it's like I never entered. Revenge of the Blackwell Ninja," Max said to herself. Her jovial mood quickly fell away. All around her, Chloe's room was more or less the same. It even had that same smell.

_She's coming back. You'll get her back._

Trying to push the conflicting emotions down, Max busied herself with the task at hand. There were precious few selfies from her week with Chloe, and only one she might be able to recreate. The problem was that, for the most part, she couldn't remember what she wore. Except for one photo. She took a selfie in Rachel Amber's clothes in the bathroom mirror. The outfit was practically the whole reason she took the selfie in the first place.

Max marched over to the closet and threw it open. Sure enough, there hung her very own Rachel Amber costume. Just about everyone hated seeing her in it. Everyone but Chloe.

After changing, Max made a beeline for the bathroom. She turned on the light and stepped up to the mirror. William's camera made the ensemble complete. Holding it in front of her, just like the time before, she snapped the picture.

Prize in hand, she turned out the light, crossed the hall, and went back to Chloe's room. After quickly changing back into her own clothes, Max headed back out the window, across the roof, and down to the lawn before going back to the car. "Got it," Max said, holding up the photo.

Kate leaned over from the passenger seat to look back at Max. "Are you sure it's going to work?"

Max shook her head as she stowed the photo in her bag. "Part of me is terrified I'll use it and just come back to now instead of a week ago. But this is my best chance to set things right."

"Speaking of getting things right, I think it's time to put Super Max through her paces," Warren said, adjusting the rear-view mirror to look at Max. "I've been dying to see what you can really do after your demonstrations last night. Plan A kind of depends on it."

"Right," Max replied, a little less than enthused as she brought an arm around herself. "Lighthouse?"

"To the lighthouse!" Warren readjusted the mirror before throwing the vehicle in reverse and pulling out into the street.

For Max, everything blurred before leaving altogether.

* * *

An omnipresent pain throbbed through Max's body and head. She could faintly also sense a charge in the air broken by a painful rain and howling wind. Opening her eyes, she found her vision reduced to a narrow tunnel. She was laying on her back, and off in the distance she saw the storm. In her ears, she heard Chloe shouting, but only the sound of her voice reached her. The words themselves were lost in her ears as a thready heartbeat echoed in them.

A driving desire to see Chloe one last time took hold, but she lacked the strength to turn her head. Even the effort of keeping her eyes open became too much. A blackness overcame her and the only thing she could sense was her weak heart fluttering. A warm, floating sensation took hold, banishing the cold she didn't even realize had settled in her body. Then, nothing.

* * *

"Shit!" Max jerked in her seat as reality reasserted itself. In her chest, her heart thundered with all the determination in her soul to keep her body alive. It was another vision, and there was one thing that was very clear.

_I died! I'm going to die!_

"Max, are you okay?" Kate asked, again leaning over to look back at her. "You zoned out for a minute."

"I… had a vision," Max muttered, her hand over her chest in a futile attempt to quell her heart's desperate tattoo.

"Do we… need a new plan?" Kate asked, her face paling at the sight of Max.

Closing her eyes, Max tried to remember details from the vision other than her dying. "I… I'm not sure. I don't… think so."

Plan A. That's why she was there on the docks instead of the safety of the lighthouse. A terrible realization set in, leaving Max feeling helpless. Plan A worked. Or will work, if her visions were anything to go by. Maybe not perfectly, but it wasn't useless. And all it cost was her life. One life against a thousand. It was the same fucking conundrum she and Chloe faced at the lighthouse.

But she couldn't let Chloe be there! It was too dangerous. If Chloe were to die again, then it would all be for naught. Last time, she didn't pay attention to her visions until it was too late. Maybe this time she could use her visions to shape a future she could live with. First and foremost, she needed to keep Chloe away, no matter the cost. Plan A put Max there on the docks, but maybe there was a hint to a way to survive. The next vision, she would find it. A way out.

This was fate, trying to shackle her with fear and seal her away from what needed to be done. But she wouldn't let go of her truth. Being with Chloe was all that mattered. And it was her destiny to conquer fate—to quell its wrath and survive. She just needed to find the way.

Her heart returning to its normal pattern, Max gave a resolute nod. "Plan A will work."

"We still get to see you in action, right?" Warren asked as he pulled the car to a stop at the foot of the hill leading to the lighthouse.

Max nodded. "There are still… things to figure out. The more I know about my limits, the better."

_I have to find a way to change the future. Those visions can't be my destiny!_

Silence dominated the short trip up to the lighthouse. Warren practically buzzed with excitement, arms swinging further than necessary as he constantly fidgeted and faltered. It seemed like every other moment, he was looking over at Max, just waiting for something amazing to happen. For her part, Kate seemed to have a calm, introspective air to her. Max couldn't figure out what was going on in her head, though she found herself far too distracted by her own worries to really give it much thought.

Terror gripped Max's thoughts. What if she really couldn't defeat fate? Were her visions a warning of her folly? It sure seemed like that if she went with the half-formed plans they'd come up with in their all-night session in her dorm, then not only would Chloe be just as dead, Max would be right there with her. Maybe that _was_ her destiny. To be a memory rotting in the dirt with Rachel and Chloe.

Her stomach turned and her vision swam.

_**Save her!** _

Just like that, the episode passed, as did her doubt. It didn't matter if it was one chance in a thousand. In a million. She had to try. What good was her power if it couldn't save the one person she cared for the most? No matter the cost, even if it had to be her own life, she would save Chloe.

As the group reached their destination, they naturally gravitated to the bench looking out over the bay. Max and Kate sat there, though Warren's energy had hardly dissipated. "So, how about a warm-up, Super Max?" Warren suggested.

"We practiced a lot last night," Max replied, not even sure herself what those words meant.

"Do you still have a migraine?" Kate asked, her warm hand gently resting on Max's.

"No," Max denied with a shake of her head. "I felt better after a few hours of sleep."

"Let's get to it, then!" Warren said. He rushed over to the railing, standing at the precipice of a vertical drop straight to the jagged rocks and frothy waters below. "I was thinking a classical experiment with a time-bending twist." Plucking a rock the size of a football from the ground, he rested it on the railing.

"Shouldn't keep him waiting," Kate whispered as she got up. "Not sure his heart can take the excitement."

Max got up but hesitated as she looked back over the area. It was different now. Peaceful. Quiet. No raging storm. No heartfelt goodbyes and mournful kisses.

Max's stomach painfully twisted as she allowed the memories to flow through her. As much as they hurt, she had made Chloe a promise. One she wouldn't break. She would never forget that moment. Not ever. But they would have more memories together. Better ones. Even if it killed her, Max would make sure of that.

Though the few steps over to the railing weren't enough to shake her own damning thoughts, it did give her time to at least pretend she was okay. "So, what's this experiment of yours?"

"Galileo's, actually," Warren said as he patted the rock. "This is yours, Max." As Max approached, he let her balance the ten-pound chunk of stone on the post as he stepped aside. "He posited that objects fall at the same rate, regardless of their mass. To prove it, he dropped things at the same time and watched them fall. We're gonna do that, only our stuff will come back to us. Right, Max?"

"Sooo, we're gonna throw shit in the ocean and I'm gonna rewind it back to us?" Max deadpanned.

Warren shrugged. "Basically. We'll each drop something at the same time, so they should all splash down at the same time. Should also return at the same time, too." To get the point across, he reached into his pocket and brought out his phone. He then held it out over the railing. "Kate?"

Max looked to her other side to see Kate slipping her necklace off. Mimicking Warren, she held it out over the ledge. "We have faith in you, Max," she said, a reassuring smile on her face.

Here Warren and Kate were, offering to throw away some of their most prized possessions because they believed in her. Didn't they pay attention? Every time she tried to fix things with her powers, it always ended up worse. Hell, she had a rock and she barely trusted herself with that.

"Kate? Can… can you switch me places? It might be easier if both of you were on the same side of me. So I don't have to split my attention."

Kate agreed, moving over so that she and Warren were both to Max's left. Then, Max held out the hefty rock with both hands to match Warren and Kate. "Ready?" Kate asked.

"On three," Warren instructed. He called out the numbers, and on three, the group released their objects. Despite the dozens of feet to the salty waters below, the fall lasted less than a few seconds for the trio to splash anti-climatically into the ocean.

Now, that just left the hardest part. Max took a deep breath to center herself as she turned to Warren and Kate. She held out one hand directly in front of her, her other hand directly at the duo. As she felt time parting and familiar pressure in her head, she saw not just her ghostly image work backward, but a phantom of Kate and Warren as well. They leaned over, watching the fall, before straightening back up with their arms outstretched. Their items returned to them. Just in time, too. The pressure built up so quickly! Max released the rewind, her hand reaching for her aching head as she released a pained hiss.

"That was amazing!" Warren shouted, fishing his phone from his pocket. "Did you go back as far as you could? I think I saw myself over by the bench for a second."

"I have to admit, that is always… exhilarating," Kate said, her fingers worrying her cross, once again dangling around her neck.

Max rubbed her temples. "Keeping both of you out of the rewind was a lot harder than just one of you. Which itself is like ten times harder than a normal rewind."

"But it proves you can keep more than just yourself out of the rewinds. More than just a person," Warren said. "I mean, you said yourself that items in your possession are exempt, but if you can reach out and remotely affect multiple things, Plan A just might stand a chance."

"Good," Max said, blinking away the worst of the pain in her head. It already started to dissipate into a dull ache. "What next?"

Warren held up three fingers. "Okay, we need to test three things about your powers. Distance, volume, and repeatability. We already crossed off duration, right?"

"I don't know that what we just did really counts," Max replied.

Kate's hand brushed against Max's arm, resting there. "Are you sure you can do this? We just started and you look…"

Max nodded. "I have to do this. I have to know everything I can and do everything I can."

"You can't save anyone if something happens to you," Kate retorted, her tone sweet but firm.

A ragged breath left her as Max turned and rested on the railing. "This is where it happened, you know." She lifted a finger, pointing over behind the bench. "We stood right over there. I gave my heart to her. Told her that, as long as I had her with me, everything would somehow be okay. I don't… I don't know how much I really believed that, but to give her up and let her die?" Max hung her head as a sob escaped her lips. "We kissed goodbye, and I… I promised her I would never forget her. I will never break that promise for as long as I live." Shaking her head, Max all but shouted. "But it isn't enough! I'll take her back! Even if it kills me, Chloe deserves to live. She doesn't deserve to die on a dirty bathroom floor believing that everyone in her life abandoned her!"

Max turned back around, looking out the ocean. "Warren, what's next on the agenda?"

"Distance is a good start," he muttered, his voice now devoid of the excitement he'd expressed all morning. "I count seven boats out there. Try rewinding the closest, then work your way farther out to see how far away you can keep something outside of your rewind."

Max looked down over the cliff. The closest was a small fishing boat dangerously close to the rocks. It couldn't have been more than four or five hundred feet away. Duration was important, too. Fishing out her phone, Max started a timer and set it on the post in front of her. "We'll see if distance affects how far back I can go, too."

"Great idea, Max," Warren said, just a bit of enthusiasm returning to his voice.

Extending both arms, she focused on the boat and keeping it clear of the rewind. As time danced backward, Max saw that boat continued moving forward, slowly but surely. It wasn't rewinding with the rest of reality. Max wanted to know how far back she could go, so she kept it up until her head threatened to burst. It wasn't very far back. She started when it hit minute two, and now it read 42 seconds.

"Did it work?" Kate asked, her eyes fixated on how Max held her head in pain.

"Yeah. The closest boat. I was able to rewind about a minute and 15 seconds," Max stammered out, trying her best not to aggravate the throbbing pain in her skull.

Warren chuckled. "We really should've gotten a baseline for your duration, but still, that boat's a good 200 meters out there. It's pretty impressive. The next one is probably closer to a kilometer. Can you rewind with it?"

Max looked down at the numbers ticking on the screen. "I'll go when the timer hits four minutes." The boat was so far away, Max wasn't sure if she'd have any indication if the rewind affected it or not. But still, she had to try. Both arms reached out, and time flitted backward once more. Though Max couldn't see the ship well enough, something in her fingers—a deliberate absence—told her that it wasn't affected. It was too far.

Releasing the rewind early, Max cursed. "I can't reach it. And the storm…" Images of the tornado flitted through her mind's eye. The wall of the tornado was further away than that second boat. "I'll never reach it from here."

"Max, you said it yourself, this is the only safe place in Arcadia Bay," Kate said.

"Yeah. So I don't get to be safe during Plan A." It wasn't new information. Her visions had her on the docks. And dying in Chloe's arms. Needed to change at least that last thing, but this didn't seem to be giving her any real answers.

"We should come up with a new plan," Warren said. "If you can't even reach a kilometer, you would have to be way too close to do anything. It's too dangerous."

Max shook her head, regretting the motion as pain bloomed anew. "No time."

"Dude, you're a time-traveler! Time is the only thing we have an excess of," Warren said. "We go back to the drawing board. Find a new plan."

"No. My way back. My permanent return to the past is a one-time thing, I think. And that window closes after tonight," Max said, trying to remember the exact words of the spirits. "Technically tomorrow, but my dad is going to drag me back to Seattle before then. So I have to go back. Today."

"What should we do?"

"Why don't we take a break?" Kate suggested. "We can take a step back and weigh our options."

Warren gave her an approving look. "Max?"

Max turned back and snatched her phone. "Let's do lunch and see if we can figure something out."

* * *

They piled into the vehicle, with Max once again opting for the back seat alone. "Did we even learn anything at all?" Max muttered after shutting the door and donning her seatbelt.

"Plan A is doomed to failure?" Kate replied as the car started and pulled out.

A pang of fear and regret passed through Max. "It… it's still the best option."

"We knew your power had limits before we started, but now we know a little bit more about them," Warren offered. "Max can only rewind so far, and now we know that the farther away something is, the harder it is for Max to leave it out of the rewind. We can also presume that the bigger an area she leaves out of the rewind, the harder it is as well."

"We can?" I asked.

"Logically speaking," Warren admitted. "Of course, given your powers could just as easily be magic, who knows?"

"Explain it to me," Max insisted.

Warren adjusted the mirror so he could see Max in the backseat. "Okay. So your powers affect spacetime. Not time."

"Spacetime?" Max's mind wandered back to the first futile time she tried to make sense of her powers. "I don't quite follow."

"Space and time are not separate. They are two sides of the same coin. Time is an inherent property of space. So it makes sense that the farther away something is, the more effort it would take you to affect it with your powers. It's not just farther away in space. It's farther away in time. And your powers can only rewind so far back."

"I… sort of follow you, I guess."

"Wait," Kate said, leaning over so she could look at Max and Warren. "Doesn't Max's power go out way beyond all that? I mean, doesn't the whole world go back in time when she uses her power?"

"I would guess that Max's power affects the whole universe," Warren said. "Satellites would get messed up if it just affected the planet, and the planets' orbits would appear distorted if it affected anything less than the solar system. There's no reason to believe that there is a limit to what is rewound, only what is not rewound." A moment passed before Warren shouted. "Holy shit!"

"Warren!" Kate hissed.

"Sorry, but, don't you see? _That's_ Max's power!" Warren shouted, way too loud for the conversation in the car. "Max _doesn't_ rewind the universe. The universe must spontaneously rewind all the time, it's just immeasurable because we rewind with it. Max can _exclude_ things from the rewinding! Fuck! The arrow of time is wrong! Time goes both ways!"

Max shrugged. "For me it does. But how does that help me use my power or to save Arcadia Bay?"

"Max… this… the implications for physics based on this—"

"Is more important than the lives of everyone in Arcadia Bay?" Max snapped back.

Warren sighed, his hands gripping and ungripping the wheel. "No. Just… it's a really profound thought and it totally makes sense. That's why you have the limits you do when clearly the whole of existence is affected. But you're right. Theories later. Fix the problems now."

"Any ideas on how to fix the problems?" Kate asked.

A heavy silence filled the car.

* * *

As the group piled out of the car, Max spotted a familiar RV occupying the parking lot. Max knew she needed to try to do without the Xanax, but today promised to be a trying day. The last piece of the pill Frank gave her was gone before breakfast, too. "Hey, why don't you two get us a table? I think I need to talk to someone." Warren and Kate hesitated. Especially Warren. Max put her hand on his shoulder. "I can take care of myself."

Warren nodded. "Just… call or text if you need us, okay?"

Max headed over to the RV, giving the door a light knock. From inside, she heard a shuffling, then, the door cracked open. The moment Frank's eyes fell on her, he smiled. "Well, if it ain't my favorite scrawny ass witch."

Rolling her eyes, Max let his complete and total lack of charm pass. "Invite a girl in?"

"Hell yeah," Frank said, opening the door and stepping aside.

Once inside, Pompidou came running up to her, tail wagging. "Hey there, Pompidou," she said as she crouched down to pet him.

"I somehow doubt this is a social call," Frank said, stepping past Max into the tiny kitchen area. "Need more chill pills?"

"Just one," Max said, her attention still being slathered on the overgrown, overviscious puppy.

"You gotta be kidding me. Just one?"

This time, Max looked up. "It's all I'm going to need."

"For today, maybe," Frank said. "I'm not gonna be around for you to stop by every goddamn day. Stock up."

"You don't get it," Max said, snorting out a bitter chuckle. "Won't need any more after today. I'm… I'll be performing a ritual tonight. One that'll fix things for good… Hopefully."

"A ritual?" He crossed his arms over his chest. Though he tried to exude a tough exterior, he just couldn't will that ghost of a smile away. He was loving this shit. "So what, you and your coven are just gonna cure you of all the psycho shit?"

"Just me. And the way I see it, all my problems stem from her being dead. So I'm gonna fix that."

That wiped that smile off his face. "You-you're serious? You're gonna raise the fucking dead?"

Max shrugged. "More like, make sure they never died in the first place."

Frank's eyes were wide. "What… what about Rachel? Can you do the same for her?"

And the power shifted, putting Max on the defensive. "I… I don't know. Maybe. I only get one shot, so I have to make sure I get it right and Chloe is my only priority."

"Fuck, you know Chloe misses her more than I do!"

"I… I know," Max muttered. "We'll see what I can do. I promise. Now, about that Xanax."

"Five bucks."

"What, seriously?" Max asked.

"This ain't a charity, and you're not buying in bulk. Five bucks is the friends and witches price." He licked his lips. "But tell you what. You bring Rachel back, and I'll hook you up for life. No charge."

Fishing the money from her wallet, Max passed the money over to Frank. He took it and disappeared into his room at the end of the RV only to return a moment later with a single yellow tablet between his fingers. "One Xanax."

Max took it, stowing it in her bag. "I'll do what I can to make things right," she said as she turned and stepped down to the door. As she reached for the door, an errant thought wormed its way to the forefront of her mind. "And Frank. This is goodbye. Pretty good chance this is gonna kill me, and even if it doesn't, I'm not gonna need Xanax or even have powers anymore."

"Hmm," Frank shrugged. "Good luck."

Max walked out of the RV before making a beeline for the diner. Lucky for her, Kate and Warren were at her favorite table. It wasn't hard to figure out why. Joyce stood behind the counter. She offered Max a strained smile and a half-hearted wave, which Max returned.

"Sorry about that," Max muttered as she slid in next to Kate. "Unfinished business."

Warren leaned over, hissing, "That was the fucking drug dealer, wasn't it?"

"His name's Frank," Max replied evenly. "He's not a good person, but… he did save Rachel and Chloe's life, once. He's not all bad."

Max straightened up as Joyce came back around. "Hey, Joyce. How are you?"

"I'm… I'm taking it one day at a time," she replied, her voice straining.

"I know the feeling," Max replied, nodding just a bit.

The awkward banter ended as Joyce took Max's drink order and the table's meals. After she retreated, Max breathed a bitter sigh. "I ruined her life, too," she muttered.

"You saved her life," Kate said, pressing her palm gently against Max's upper arm.

"She would've rather Arcadia Bay be razed than for Chloe to go like that," Max replied.

"You don't know that," Kate said.

Max sighed again. "Talking to Frank got me thinking. I haven't thought about it really since the storm. I don't know what happens when I jump and change the past."

"What do you mean?" Warren asked.

"I jump to the past, change something, then I come back to the present. But it's different because of what I changed," Max explained. "I mean, this time will be different because I'm not going to return. But still, what happens to the reality I left behind? Does it transform into the new reality? Does it stop existing? Does it… keep going on like nothing happened?"

Max took several deep breaths, trying desperately to keep from devolving into another episode. "Was this all for naught? Is there a Max in some other reality stuck staring at a picture, not understanding why her power isn't working while Arcadia Bay is destroyed? Did Chloe's sacrifice save anyone at all? Or did I just make an additional reality where she died, too?"

"It transforms," Warren said, his voice firm and confident. Max looked up to see a smirk on his face. "The arrow of time is wrong. Sorry, but you were the one that didn't want to wax philosophical. And yet, here we are."

"Okay, so explain it to me," Max said, reveling in the fact that Warren's confidence warded her episode off. In her chest, her heart slowed and her breathing returned to normal.

"The arrow of time postulates that time can only go in one direction, that it is asymmetrical. We all know that's wrong. My theory is that only our perception is asymmetrical, and your power allows you to pierce through that veil. So you return to a point in the past, then time shifts forward again, the events running in a different way lead to a different present. But it's all in the same reality. There's no split in timelines, because time. Is. Not. Linear." Warren leaned back smiling. "Chloe really did die to save all of us. And you can save her, too."

While Max didn't fully understand the explanation, it brought to her untold relief. Because what she did understand was that there were no Maxes left behind. Arcadia Bay was never destroyed. Not in this reality or any other. That event never happened. "Thank you, Warren," Max said, feeling her whole body relax as she leaned back in the booth.

"Now, that doesn't preclude the existence of multiple realities," Warren said, forcing Max to tense up again. "Just that you aren't hopping between them. You're here, with us. Whether we can remember all the back and forth shifts or not."

"That's enough philosophy," Max said, relaxing again. "My heart can't take anymore."

With that, the trio again tried to come up with some way Max could use her power or otherwise change history to stop the storm. One whole meal and a Xanax fragment later, and still, they had nothing new. Worse, toward the end, Max got a text from her dad saying that he was in town. Max told him where they were and he agreed to meet them there.

"So, what do we do now?" Kate asked.

"We're out of time," Warren agreed.

Max shook her head. "I take care of business here. I jump back, and… I execute Plan A, B, and C. We haven't come up with anything new, so we go with the old plan."

"But, B and C aren't foolproof, that's why we have Plan A and your powers… they're not enough for Plan A to work," Warren argued.

"And we don't have a better idea."

"Fuck!" Warren muttered, holding his head in his hands. "Max, do you have any idea how crazy this is?"

"It's my only chance."

Kate leaned toward Max. "I have faith in you."

Max shook her head. "I guess that makes one of us."

"Now, are you three stayin' for dessert or just loitering?" Joyce said, forcing a smile. "Of course, for you three, I wouldn't mind too much if you stayed all afternoon."

"We're waiting for my dad," Max replied. "He should be here soon."

"Ryan Caulfield? I haven't seen him in ages. Not since…"

"Joyce, do you have a break soon?" Max hurried to fill the silence. "There… there is something I wanted to talk to you about."

Joyce pointed over to the door where a woman was stepping in. "Gina just got here. Let me hand everythin' off to her and I'll be right back."

Max turned back to her friends as Joyce walked back behind the counter. "Do you two think you could give us a bit of time alone?" Receiving affirmations from both, Max asked them if they could keep an eye out for her dad. They agreed after Max showed them his picture on her phone so they would know who to look out for.

Sure enough, it didn't even take two minutes for Joyce to return and take a seat where Warren was. This time, she didn't even try. She rested her head in her hand as she leaned on the table. "Some days are harder than others," she said. "Today has been… bad."

"I'm sorry, Joyce," Max apologized, her gaze falling away from the tired face of the woman who was practically her second mother. "I… I'll try to make it better."

"Max, having you here has been the only silver lining on this endless storm," Joyce replied, sitting up so she could reach across the table and take Max's hand in her own.

Max withdrew her hand. "No, Joyce. I _am_ the storm. I let Chloe die." Everything in her abdomen painfully squirmed at the vile words, sending bile up the back of her throat.

"You can't blame yourself just because you were there," Joyce said.

"No. I made a choice. A deliberate choice. I was in that bathroom specifically to let Chloe die." Taking a deep breath, Max took a mug into her hand. A glance over at the pastry display and she felt the heft of the cup. With a small nod, she chucked the mug at the display, shattering both.

Joyce's head whipped over at the crash, watching the splintered glass and ceramic litter the counter and floor. "Max! What in the devil—"

Joyce's protests died as the cascade of glass rose from the ground, replaced itself in perfect order, and the cracks vanished as the mug reassembled on the impact point. The mug then launched only to land in a ghostly hand. Max was in two places at once. One, had both arms extended and was still. The other caught the mug before placing it back on the table.

The episode ended, and Max lowered her arms. "I can redo moments," she said, panting just a bit. The inside of her head throbbed, but such a short stunt proved to be quite bearable. "Chloe died before, and I brought her back."

"I don't… understand," Joyce muttered, looking between Max and the unshattered confectionery counter.

"When Nathan shot Chloe, I discovered that I had the ability to rewind time. That was the first time I saved her," Max said. She closed her eyes, trying to find her center through her regret and sorrow. "But… that action. Changing the natural course of events led to a storm. A terrible storm." Just mentioning the storm sent an icy chill through her veins, as if just invoking its presence invited death to take dominion over her.

"This… this is all too much!" Joyce hissed. "You can control time? If-if you can do that then why? Why wouldn't you save Chlo—"

"She asked me not to!" Max snapped back. Breaths squeezed in and out her chest in uncomfortable haste. "That storm… it kills _everyone_ in Arcadia Bay. I had to choose between Chloe, or everyone and everything in Arcadia Bay. I chose Chloe, but Chloe… she asked me to go back. To save you. _Everyone_. It only would only cost one life. Chloe's."

Joyce stared, eyes glassy and mouth hanging open. Finally, it snapped closed as she shook her head. "I… understand what you're sayin', but I just can't believe it."

"Chloe didn't die for no reason. She chose to die in order to save you. To save all of Arcadia Bay. The only reason anyone here is alive is because Chloe made that sacrifice," Max explained. She reached out again, her hand only making halfway across the table before Joyce's hands desperately wrapped around it. Max swallowed, though the action did little to calm her twisting insides. "But that was Chloe's choice. Not mine. And Chloe's not the one with the power to beat fate. I'm… I'm going to change my decision. I'm bringing Chloe back."

Tears streaked down Joyce's face as her eyes went wide. "You… can do that? Bring her back to me?"

"If Warren's right, it'll be more like she never died in the first place," Max replied. "But… that means the storm will come again. I'm going to do everything I can to keep everyone safe, but…" A long sigh in and out and Max's gaze fell away as her hand went slack in Joyce's. "I don't know that I can save everyone. This decision. This choice that I'm making will save Chloe, but it also means that good, innocent people might die because of it. It's selfish, but—"

"Be selfish!" Joyce practically shouted at her, her hands gripping Max's harder as she stared at Max with a fierce fire burning in her eyes. "Bring her back."

_**Save her!** _

Max nodded. "I will."

Tears continued to stream down Joyce's cheeks, but she smiled as she breathed a ragged, exuberant breath out. "I feel like this can't be real. That I've gone mad and imagined this all to comfort myself."

Detangling her hand from Joyce's vise-like grip, Max left the booth to round the table and wrap her arms around Joyce. "You took care of me for years, Joyce. Just for today, let me take care of you. I'll fix everything… or die trying."

"Oh, Max!" Joyce returned the embrace, squeezing Max with an uncomfortable pressure. "I… I don't know what to say."

"Just… just be there for Chloe. I know you won't remember any of this. All this will be erased when I save her, but… I know you, Joyce." Tears broke free, but Max kept her voice steady as she held Joyce. "Put the last five years behind you two, like we did. She wants you in her life. I'll make sure you get that chance."

The embrace ended, and Joyce grabbed a napkin from the table to sop up her ruined makeup. "You can make that happen? You really can?"

Max reached out, placing a hand on Joyce's shoulder with a reassuring squeeze. "I'll make it happen. I promise."

"Maxine!" The duo looked up to find Ryan Caulfield waving as he stepped toward them. "And Joyce Price, it's been such a long time. I really wish it was under better circumstances."

"It's Madsen, now," Joyce corrected him, plucking at her tired eyes with her fingers. A weary smile touched her lips. "And it's all right. Max will fix everything!"

Then, Ryan moved backward, raising his hand again in a wave, before lowering it and exiting the diner. Everything else in the diner ran in reverse at a breakneck speed for a few more moments before Max lowered her arm.

"What in tarnation?" Joyce looked over at Max, shooting her a quizzical look.

"Dad doesn't know," Max explained. She slid back into the booth, holding out her arm in a gesture for Joyce to rejoin her. "I… don't know if I will. Tell him, I mean." In some weird, cosmic sense, this could be one of her last chances to tell him how much he and her mom just how much they mean to her, especially given that, should she find herself unable to change her vision, her days were numbered.

"Maxine!" Ryan greeted again. "And Joyce Price, it's been such a long time. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"It's Madsen, now," Joyce corrected him, giving Max a long look before turning back to Ryan as he stepped up to the table.

"Right, sorry," Ryan spoke up, filling a silence that wasn't there last time. "And I'm so sorry for your loss. If anything happened to Maxine I…" He reached out, putting a firm hand on Joyce's shoulder. "If there's anything I can do for you, just name it."

Joyce turned back to look at Max. "I think… everything will turn out okay. Right, Max?"

For the first time, Max looked over at her dad, a pang of deep guilt settling in her stomach. She had to remember that this was all for Chloe. Even if it cost her life and put her parents through hell, she had to. For Chloe. "I'll find a way."

Ryan cracked a smile as he met his daughter's eyes. "I'm glad to see you in better spirits." He leaned over the table, wrapping his arms around Max's shoulders and drawing her into a hug.

Max returned the gesture. "I just… I had an epiphany. I found my truth, and I won't let it go."

_I won't let her go._

"Joyce, a little help?"

The hug ended and the trio turned to the waitress as she headed out with a full tray. Sighing, Joyce stood. "Looks like I've overstayed my break, unless Max here wants to give me some more time." She gave Max a wink.

 _Oh my Dog. That's where Chloe gets that shit from_.

"I'm sure dad has a nice, long lecture for me," Max said, chancing a glance over at Ryan as she also slid out of the booth. The duo bid Joyce a farewell, with Ryan restating that he was there for her if she needed anything. A bit of coercing and Max convinced her dad to let her ride back to Blackwell with Kate and Warren. She didn't even have to rewind. Her dad must've been really worried about her.

* * *

After admonishing the duo for failing to warn her about her dad walking in, Max talked Kate and Warren into helping her handle her dad while she finished up her final preparations. So, once they arrived at Blackwell, Warren and Kate played interference with her dad as he carried the box full of Polaroids, allowing Max to make a beeline for her dorm ahead of the other three. Once inside, she made sure to tear down her " _Save Chloe_ " collage, now separated into _Plan A, Plan B,_ and _Plan C_ from when they were working out the plans for her jump back.

She barely got the collage torn down before Kate and Warren led Ryan into the tiny room. Ryan didn't seem to notice, instead just grunting as he waved the large box about. "Where do you want this?"

Max leapt from her bed, pointing at it. "Just put it down here." As soon as Ryan released it, Max tipped it over, sending a wave of Polaroids over her bed. The box was tossed aside as she glanced through the pictures. Her fingers started gathering up the images without her in them. "Help me out, here," Max said, tossing the rejects back into the box. "Throw anything that doesn't have me in it in the box."

Kate and Warren didn't need further explanation, heading over to sift through the mound of pictures with Max. Ryan cocked an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Maxine, is everything all right? No tour of the room, no explanation of what's going on or why you had me bring your pictures, no… talk about what's really going with you?"

"Keep at it," Max murmured to her two friends as she pried her attention away from her pictures. "Sorry, Dad," she said as she stepped away from the bed. "There's… a lot going on and the explanation is… there isn't one." Was she just supposed to tell him the truth? That was certainly an option. It wasn't like she was keeping it a big secret anymore. Everyone would forget soon.

Max sucked in a deep breath, holding for a few seconds before letting it slowly out. "I'm sorry, dad," I said. Telling him would probably mean letting him know the risks. Letting him know his precious little girl was risking genocide to save just one life—letting him know that there was the very real chance that this trip to the past would prove fatal, was too much. One more secret. One more lie. "I know you and Mom are probably super worried about me, and I never meant to hurt you two. It's just… it's been a lot."

"I know. And I'm so sorry your mom and I haven't been there for you like we should've," Ryan said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "But don't worry, we've both taken time off work to focus on you and getting you better, okay?"

That was worse. Just another thing to feel guilty over. Not only had she scared her parents to death about her wellbeing, but they were also blowing off their careers to support her now non-existent crisis.

 _It's okay._ Max reminded herself. _None of this ever happened._

A deep breath and Max nodded. "Thanks."

"Have you started packing? We do have a long trip ahead of us," Ryan said as he withdrew his hand.

Max shook her head. "Do I really even need to? I still have clothes and stuff at home."

"There's nothing you want to take with you?"

The question felt like a trap. Was not wanting to bring anything a cry for help? Probably. Still, it was hard to know what she should want to pack, given that she had no intention of going anywhere Chloe wasn't still alive.

"I, uh… guess I should pack some stuff, huh?" Max looked over to Kate and Warren, silently begging for help.

Warren jumped to the rescue. "Hey, why don't I show you around campus while Max packs?"

"You do realize that I took the full tour with Maxine when I brought her here, right?" Ryan put on a wry smile at Warren's cowed expression. "But I also realize a ruse when I see one." He turned to Max, putting a hand on her shoulder. "If you need some alone time, just say so. But we really do need to get on the road soon, okay?"

"Just a few minutes, Pop, okay?" Max all but begged, clasping her hands in front of her.

Ryan turned his attention back to Warren. "Do you think the Principal might still be on campus?"

"He lives here, so yeah," Warren said as he stepped by Ryan and toward the door. "Let's try his office first, though. He might still be there."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan agreed, letting Warren lead him out. Before closing the door behind him, he leaned back in. "We'll be back soon, okay Maxine?"

"Yeah," Max replied, sending him a smile. As the door closed, a feeling of relief washed over her. It didn't last long. The seeping dread of what still had to be done clawed its way to the front of her mind. "Okay, let's get to work."

"Right," Kate agreed, going back to the pile of photos.

They sifted for a few minutes before Kate passed one back to Max that gave her pause. It showed Max and Kristen together. Though Max appeared in her regular attire, Kristen had a pair of silly, plastic rabbit ears on her head. It was from an Easter party Kristen and Fernando dragged her to.

_Wasn't that also Spring Break?_

"When was Easter?"

"March 31st," Kate replied almost instantly.

"Three weeks before…" Max took the photo, pinning it up on her board before moving the last photo William took next to it. Then, she removed from her bag the recreated photo from this morning. "I think… This is what I was looking for."

Before Max was three opportunities to the past. Three different times she could return to, permanently. Three choices.

First, there was the recreated photo. It would put her back in the week she spent with Chloe, and that Chloe would remember everything… all the good things, at least. Their midnight swim. Their kiss. But it would give her almost no time to come up with a plan to defy the storm. Only a couple of days to get everything together and try to save Arcadia Bay. Two days with Chloe before she would have to risk everything to save the Bay. And if she failed, it really would leave Chloe all alone in the world again. No Dad. No Rachel. No Max. All that spoke nothing of the biggest risk—it wasn't an original photo. There was the very real risk that this photo would literally just send her back to this morning, sealing Chloe's fate forever.

Then, there was the photo from the Easter party. It was far enough back that she could save Rachel, too. Even in Chloe's final moments, her thoughts trailed to her fallen angel. A girl she loved probably more than she loved even Max. And Max could return her to Chloe, forever. Then, even if Max died, Chloe would still have someone to lean on. Chloe could still be happy. But that would seal away any hope Max had of a relationship with Chloe. And there was the problem of even getting to Arcadia Bay to save Rachel. Sure, it was Spring Break, but there was no guarantee her parents would let her go to Arcadia Bay or that Chloe would accept her after her five years of silence. And, if the storm did trigger the moment she got back, she may not even get a chance to save anyone from her prison in Seattle.

There was also the option to save everyone. A world where William lives is also a world where Chloe is paralyzed. But if Max got to go back permanently, she could stop that from happening, right? She would even have the opportunity to stop Jefferson before he hurt anyone in Arcadia Bay, including Rachel. It would even give her the chance to take back her silence, allowing her to stay in touch with Chloe for those five, long years. But it had even more risk than going back to Easter. She would start her life over at thirteen years old. If the storm started the moment she got back, then there really would be no way for her to be in Arcadia Bay when it hit. Everyone would die. Again.

Max weighed her options before she reached out and snatched a picture down from the board. "I'm ready," she said, clutching the photo as she scrambled off the bed.

* * *

They left the dorm, headed for the Tobanga as they sent Warren a text to meet them there. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Kate asked as they waited by the Tobanga.

Max shook her head, doing her best to make sure that was the only part of her that shook. "I don't have any more time. This is my only chance to save everyone. It's reckless, and I just know I'm going to fuck it up like I do everything. I… I just, I have to try. I have to."

"I'm praying for you, Max," Kate said. "I believe in you."

Her lip twitched, nearly curling into a smile before it gave up. "I wish I did."

"Yo, Max!"

The duo looked up at the shout to see Warren approaching. Thankfully, Ryan hung back as Warren joined the girls. "You're doing this, right now?"

Max's gaze stayed on her dad. "It's now or never. And I'm not letting things end this way." Her own words tore at the back of mind. What if it ends worse because of this? Every time she tried, it just got worse. But she had to try. Keep trying until it got better, or she couldn't try anymore. She had to make sure Chloe stayed safe. If nothing else, she could be at peace if only she could make that one thing happen.

Max turned back to the Tobanga. "Kate, Warren… Thank you. I… I was never good at making friends. Next to Chloe, you two are the best I've ever known. So… thank you." Placing a hand on the Tobanga, Max felt thrumming energy in her fingertips that ran through her whole body. Though the spirits didn't speak, the message was clear. It was time.

"No, Max. Thank you," Kate said, clasping her hands in front of herself. "You are one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. So kind and sincere. I know I might not remember any of this, but I pray that you always treasure our happy times together."

Warren held out a hand, hesitating for a second or two before finally letting it rest on Max's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You got this, Mad Max. Don't just save Chloe. Save everyone. And you better show me your powers in that timeline, too!"

Reality bent and twisted as Max focused on the photo. Sights and sounds from the past bled into the present. Then, in a flash of light, the present vanished.


	10. Second Chance

Max found herself not in the past, but once again in the void. This time, however, all around her she found recent moments playing in reverse around her. Each moment, the time jumped further into the past and the visages of her past accelerated.

_**We will sever your link to the present.** _

_**You will not return.** _

_**The storm will come.** _

_**This is your final chance to save her.** _

Her breaths came in short bursts as she watched all the people whose lives she jeopardized for this chance. Lives that depended on her putting her own life on the line to save. But, if it had to be Chloe or her, she would gladly make that trade. Even for just one more day with Chloe.

_**Some mote of power yet remains.** _

The reversal of time slowed, and Max found familiar images from before the storm all around her. The Dark Room. The Everyday Heroes gallery. Seeing Kate in the hospital.

_**We cannot defy fate.** _

_**We will give you whatever help we can.** _

_**You have but to ask.** _

"Whatever support you can send," Max replied, not sure even what she should ask for.

_**Defeat fate, awakened child.** _

* * *

The familiar sound of a Polaroid being fed out of the camera pierced through a curtain of white. Blinking away the light, Max found herself in Chloe's bathroom, dressed in Rachel's punk attire. The clawing anxiety that this wasn't the right time was banished by the sound of fluttering wings. Whipping around, Max found the bird she let in to spare it from crashing into the window.

She was in the right timeline. Stepping out from the bathroom, she found no signs of a white boundary, she could even see out the window on the far side of the hall.

_Am I back? Really back?_

Stepping over to Chloe's door, she flung it open. There, sprawled on her bed smoking a joint, was her heart's only desire. The girl she knew since she was small, grown into an angry punk. "Chloe!"

"Shut the damn door!" Chloe shouted, holding up the joint with one hand, motioning at it with the other.

Max barely had the presence of mind to pull the door closed behind her as she rushed over to the bed. Flinging herself over, Max landed on the bed and on top of Chloe. Her arms instantly snaked their way around her neck and pulled her in tight. "Chloe!"

"Fuck, Max," Chloe groaned, having barely slid the ashtray out of the way before Max landed on her. She snubbed out the joint. "What's gotten into you?"

Heart aflutter, Max just held Chloe tight. Her breath caught in her throat as her heartbeats turned from elation to a thundering tattoo that painfully squeezed her chest with each beat. Keeping her mind in the present with Chloe became a struggle, as racing thoughts and nightmarish memories assaulted her mind.

"Max! Max. Max…" Even Chloe's voice started to fade under the thumping in her ears as Max struggled to keep herself in the present. Each heartbeat sounded in her ears, distorting into a distinct _click_.

Just as the Dark Room surrounded her, trapping her there in the chair, a warmth pressed into her—wrapped around her. The smell of cigarettes and weed drowned out the sterile air of the bunker. Though her heart still pounded in her chest, it didn't hurt quite as much. No longer strapped to a chair, Max found herself sitting on the edge of Chloe's bed, Chloe's arms around her.

It took a couple of minutes for the episode to pass, but with Chloe holding her, whispering reassurances, it wasn't complete and total hell. Her whole body trembling, Max leaned into Chloe, muttering her thanks as she felt like death had released its grip on her. "I… I think I'm okay now."

Chloe gave Max a squeeze. "You sure?"

"Yeah… sorry."

"The fuck was that?"

Max shook her head. How could she even begin to explain everything that happened? "I-I'm not sure. They started a few days ago." As soon as the words left her mouth, Max wished she could take them back.

"Max, you haven't…"

Thankfully, Max's phone started going off, derailing the conversation. She dug in her bag, barely hearing Chloe saying something about it going off constantly. When she fished it free, she found a dozen missed calls from Warren. She accepted the call, bringing the phone to her ear.

"Thank God! Max!" Warren's voice practically shouted at her through the phone.

"Warren? What's—"

"What did you do, Max? I am totally tripping here!"

"What do you mean?" Max replied, chancing a glance over at Chloe to find her looking a bit angry. She really did not like Max sharing her attention with others.

"Max, one minute we're standing by Tobanga, the next I'm in my dorm room and my phone says it's the 9th! Ten days ago!"

Max bolted to her feet. "You remember? The 19th? Plan A?"

"The plan that's way too damn risky? Yeah."

Max scoffed at the comment, her free hand resting on her forehead so she could give it an anxious rub. "We can still try to find another way, but right now we gotta go with Plan B and C. Have you heard from Kate? Does she remember?"

"I don't even think I have her number." A few moments passed, then he spoke again, "Okay, I do have it, but I haven't heard from her."

Lowering her hand, Max looked over to find Chloe glaring at her. Each moment talking to Warren seemed to only fuel her ire. "Okay, can you get a hold of her? She should be in the hospital. Yesterday was… You know. Hopefully, she remembers, if not, can you fill her in for me and tell her that Chloe and I will be there later today to pick her up? We need everyone for Plan B."

"Call Kate. Let her know. Got it. What else do you need me to do?"

"Stay the fuck away from Nathan and Jefferson." Another glance at Chloe and Max decided to end the call, giving Warren a curt, "I'll keep you in the loop."

Max's stomach churned as she hung up. Nathan and Jefferson were both loose and active threats. They would have to be dealt with, too. No way in hell would she go near either one of them.

"The fuck was that?" Chloe asked, standing up as she glared down at Max.

All this time, all the preparations for coming back, and the only two things Max ever considered were stopping the storm and seeing Chloe. How could she be so short-sighted? Nathan and Jefferson had to be stopped. And Chloe needed to know the ugly, bitter, painful truth. The death. The loss. Everything.

"I-I…" Max's voice caught in her throat. "I just…" Closing her eyes, she tried to formulate a plan. This would have been so much easier if she'd used rewinds. But she wouldn't do that. No matter what, she wouldn't rewind her moments with Chloe… barring a certain first kiss, anyway. Important things, though. They needed to be honest, not polished and perfect through trial and error.

"New powers," Max blurted out, deciding that getting Chloe into a good headspace to begin with would help ease the shitstorm to come.

It worked. Chloe stepped back as her eyes went wide. "Seriously? You can do fucking _more_?" Max sat back down, urging Chloe to join her. She did, practically bouncing with excitement. "Come on, Super Max. Spill!"

Pulling out the Polaroid she took in the bathroom, she passed it to Chloe. "If there is a picture with me in it, I can focus on it and return to that moment in the past."

Chloe stared at the photo. Even with her burgeoning haze, her sharp mind put the pieces together nearly instantly. "You… came back from the future?"

A bitter chuckle and Max nodded. "Yeah, but this was… a one-time thing. I get to stay this time, but usually, I can only occupy my younger self for a few minutes at best. Kind of like how my rewinds can't go too far back. Once my time is up, I return to my present, and things are different based on whatever I changed in the past."

"So… you said it's permanent this time?" Chloe asked, her brow furrowed as she digested what Max told her.

"Yeah, but like I said, this is my _only_ chance for that. I can still use my photos to change a moment, but I can't go back permanently again. Ever," Max explained.

Chloe shook her head. "Wh… when are you from?" It didn't take her a second to jump ahead a question or three. "Shit. Does this mean I died again?"

Max winced. "The 19th, and yeah… a few times."

"Fuck," Chloe muttered, hunching over and scratching her head. "I really fucked it up, huh?"

"No." Max leaned over, putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder. "I'm the one who screwed everything up. I'm just… I'm here to try to fix it."

Chloe's hand reached up to grab Max's, giving it a squeeze. She grinned up at her, not a hint of doubt in her brilliant, blue eyes. "So what's the plan, Boss?"

"Do you remember the storm? From my visions?"

"Yeah."

Max sighed a bit, shaking her head. "It comes Friday. It'll destroy Arcadia Bay and kill everyone if we don't do something."

Chloe's eyes darted from side-to-side a moment before they locked on Max's again. "That… the day after tomorrow."

"Yeah, Warren and Kate and I tried to come up with some ideas, but we're… still kind of playing it by ear," Max said. She gave a bitter chuckle, shaking her head just a bit. "That was Warren on the phone. Somehow, he came back with me. Kate might've, too."

"So… they know about your powers, too?" Chloe's hand slipped away. Even Max could see the disappointment on Chloe's face.

Max forced a smile as she squeezed Chloe's shoulder. "Hey, you're still my Faithful Sidekick. It's just… there is a lot to be done. I needed some extra help to pull all this off. A couple of minions."

Chloe's smile returned. "Minions. I like the sound of that."

"I thought you might." Max sighed. "We have a lot to do and not a lot of time. Obviously, I'm not going to class today so we can get Kate and… and get you up to speed."

"Sweetness! Okay, what do I need to know?"

_You sacrificed yourself._

_Rachel's dead._

_I'm going to die for you and Arcadia Bay._

Chloe's smile faded away. "Max? Wh-what's wrong?"

"Do… do you still have that photo? The butterfly."

"In my wallet," Chloe said as she popped up off her bed. Retrieving the photo from her wallet, she held it out to me. "One badass memento of you saving my ass."

Max took the photo between her fingers and pulled. The Polaroid gave way, tearing in half. "Max, what the fuck!"

She didn't stop. Her hands kept tearing the picture into smaller and smaller pieces. "I'm doing what I should've done the first time!"

Chloe's anger evaporated as she sat back down next to Max. She cupped Max's face with her hands, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears as they spilled from her eyes. "Max…"

Max's hand reached up, grasping Chloe's wrist as the shredded remains of the photo sat in her other, limp hand. "The storm came, Chloe. We… we stood there, watching it destroy everything. Kill everyone. Hundreds, thousands of people. Everyone at Blackwell, Joyce, _everyone_!" Max leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Chloe and holding her tight. "It was your idea. Use that photo to go back and make a different choice. To stop the storm and save everyone, all it would take was one life: yours."

"F-fuck," Chloe said, breathing a deep, ragged breath in and out.

"I hated it!" Max screamed, clutching Chloe tighter as if she'd leave her again if she dared to let go. "That world without you. It was just so fucking _perfect_! The storm never came. No one died. Kate didn't even try to jump!"

A bit of tugging and Chloe pried Max away from herself. "If… if this is what it takes to save everyone—" she held up a few bits of the shredded Polaroid "—why? Why are you here?" Tears started to streak down Chloe's cheeks. "Why would you change that?"

"I-I couldn't. I couldn't live without you." Max shook her head. "Not again. I'd rather die than go even one more day without you!" Placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder and using the other to cup her cheek, Max leaned in. Their lips met, and again Max tasted a passion muted by sorrow. Instead of Chloe, this time Max's was the life being thrown away. Cut short for a town that had never shown them anything but cold indifference.

Max embraced Chloe as their lips parted. "I love you, Chloe Price. I'd sacrifice the whole world for you if that's what it took."

"Max…" Chloe returned the embrace. "I love you, too."

For several minutes, they just held each other, finding comfort in their rhythmic breathing. Once she calmed down, Max summoned the depths of her courage to utter just four words. Words that formed the key to Pandora's box to release the nightmares and anguish within. "There's more, about Rachel…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took way too long for a chapter that was way too short, but finally, chapter 10 is done. Now I can start posting the other branch. Once I have all three choices up and running, I hope for things to run more smoothly with an update each and every Saturday on one of the three stories. 
> 
> For you shippers, I will break it down. Pale is 100% PriceField. Evoker will be AmberPriceField. The third branch will have AmberPrice and I'm leaning toward either MarshField or GrahamField. Haven't committed on that ship, yet.


	11. Inside Out

Telling Chloe about Rachel was so hard. She took it better than last time, but this time she had Max breaking the news instead of digging up her rotting corpse in a fucking junkyard. After a solid twenty minutes of anguish, Chloe finally started to calm down. She asked Max how much she knew about what happened, but Max dodged, insisting that Chloe get herself together and get a shower. After that, she'd tell her more.

Drained and frazzled, Chloe didn't put up a fight. When she reached for the door, though, Max stopped her. "Chloe, you trust me, right?"

"Y-yeah. One-hundred percent," she replied, wiping at her puffy eyes with the heel of her hand.

"Where… where is David's gun?" Max asked.

Chloe walked back over and dug around at the side of the bed. A moment later, she had the gun by the barrel and extended it toward Max. "Is… something going to happen today?"

Max shook her head. "Not if I can help it." Her hand wrapped around the grip, her finger refusing to so much as approach the trigger. Chloe let go of the barrel, and Max moved to stow the weapon in her bag. "But this is going back to David."

"What the fuck, Max? We need that—"

"You're the only one that gets shot, Chloe!" Max snapped back at her. Her eyes never leaving Chloe's in an attempt to prevent her eyes closing and her mind showing her that particular memory, she continued, "It is safer for this to be with David. Besides… I need a peace offering."

"You're sure about this?" Chloe asked, her fingers flexing and extending as she stared at the bag.

Max nodded. "I… I know what I'm doing. Please believe me."

Chloe didn't argue. She just muttered a few curse words as she headed for the door again. Max knew full well that Chloe wore her emotions on her sleeve. It was a hell of a thing to see Chloe so spent. Or maybe she just choked down her protests because she trusted Max that much.

_If only I had that much faith in myself._

While Chloe went to take a shower, Max headed downstairs. Her time with Chloe changed things drastically. Before, she helped Joyce cook and even had time to eat before David showed up. Now, David had finished eating, and he was sitting at the table talking with Joyce. A few of their whispered words caught Max's ear, and she knew they were talking about the break-in. The fact that they clammed up the moment she stepped in only reinforced Max's suspicions. Not that their late-night trespass had any bearing on anything that even remotely mattered.

Despite her ability, time was not on Max's side. Gripping the strap of her bag, she preempted whatever the Madsens were about to say. "David, I need to speak with you. In private," she said, nodding over toward the garage. "Please."

"No, I think you and Chloe need to answer some of my questions. I know you two were at Blackwell last night," he said as he rose from his seat. He pointed at Max, "I want you out of my house. I knew the first time I saw you here that you were just another bad influence—"

"Shut up!" Max barked. "None of that matters right now."

"You will _not_ disrespect me in my house!" David shouted back, stepping toward her.

"Rachel Amber is dead," Max replied, meeting David's fury with an icy glare.

David stopped, just a step away from Max. A glance back at the very wide-eyed Joyce, a hand over her mouth, and he relented. "You know this? For a fact?"

"The who, the when, the how… _everything_." Max again tilted her head toward the garage. "Can we talk, now?"

Nodding, David extended an arm toward the garage, inviting Max to lead the way. As soon as Max made it in, she walked over and leaned against the counter, just below the hidden monitor. David hung back by the door, closing it before leaning on it. "If this is some kind of ruse…"

Max shook her head, doing everything she could to make sure that was the only part of her that shook. "You're… not an idiot, David. I know you know that Chloe and I have been investigating Rachel's disappearance. You've been conducting your own investigation." She let out a bitter laugh. "You were so damn close…"

"You had better start explaining yourself, and I mean right now," David challenged, glaring at Max.

"Chloe and I took a shortcut. We're about ten steps ahead of you in the investigation. I'm about two steps ahead of Chloe," Max said, hugging herself. Though she had to tell David everything he needed to know to stop Jefferson, she just didn't know if she could go into detail about the Dark Room without breaking down. "This… this whole thing is more fucked up than you could've ever imagined." Reluctantly, she let go of herself to dig into her bag. "I see the writing on the wall. I'm going to stop looking, and I'll make sure Chloe does, too. It's too dangerous."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he took a step toward Max. "What's going on? Are you and Chloe in trouble?"

"I wanted to give this back to you before Chloe got hurt," Max pulled out the pistol, holding it by the barrel and extending the grip in David's direction.

"That's my missing gun! _You_ took it?" David yelled, loud enough for half the neighborhood to hear. He closed the rest of the distance, pulling it from Max's hand. "It's loaded!" A moment of inspection, and he shouted again, "This has been fired! What did you two do?"

He reached to grab her, and Max held out a hand. The conversation rewound until the gun was back in her bag. "…too dangerous." Max felt the cold steel of the barrel on her fingers as she considered her next moves. "I… I took this back from Chloe. I never wanted her to have it in the first place. It's safer with you." She pulled the gun out again and held it out for David. "Chloe did some target practice in the junkyard, but no one got hurt. I… should've done more to stop her. I'm sorry."

David snatched the gun from Max's hand. "It's loaded," he said, a razor's edge to his tone. At least he wasn't yelling this time.

"Chloe thought it would give her protection during our investigation," Max said. "I… don't want anyone to get hurt. Least of all Chloe."

David unloaded the gun before setting it on the counter by Max. He gave her a long stare, then nodded. "You should've told me she had it as soon as you knew she'd taken it."

"I know," Max replied, lowering her gaze as she hugged herself again. "I'm sorry."

Sighing, David shook his head. "So… Rachel Amber?"

"Murdered. By Nathan Prescott and Mark Jefferson."

David's frown deepened. "You know that. For certain?"

"Yeah. Nathan did the act itself, but Jefferson is the one ultimately to blame," Max replied. "And Chloe doesn't know. If she did…" A meaningful glance over at the pistol on the counter and David got the message. "Like I said, I'm only a couple of steps ahead of Chloe. This needs to end before she catches up."

"How could you possibly know all this?" David asked.

"You have files… license plate numbers and GPS coordinates. They're in your lockers and your laptop. We took those, Nathan Prescott's burner phone, and a drug dealer's client list to piece together everything we needed to know," Max said, doing her best to keep her voice even as the panic rose deep in her chest. "I know it was stupid. Reckless. We just wanted answers… I never… not in a million years would have guessed that…"

Max breathed a ragged breath in and out, her whole body shuddering. "Max…" David said, putting a rough hand on her shoulder. "Tell me how to put a stop to this."

"The farmstead," Max replied, not daring to look up at David. "There's a bunker underneath the old barn, but it's under 24/7 surveillance. If you can get the police in there, though… _everything_ is in there."

David withdrew his hand, again crossing his arms over his chest. "And how am I supposed to do that?"

"The police in town are in the Prescotts' pockets," Max said, trying to work her way through the problem. She couldn't help but berate herself. How stupid could she be, coming back without a plan to take out Jefferson? "We need… we need something serious enough to involve the state police." Max turned around, scanning the counter. Then, she kicked herself. She pulled out her journal and her pen. Max ripped a blank page free.

"I have an old army buddy. He landed a gig as a statie. I might be able to call in a favor," David said, "but we can't just go into the bunker without a warrant. Not if we want this to go down on the books."

Max started drawing a rough map of American Rust. "Call him. Go to American Rust. It's an old junkyard," she said. I then walked David through before pointing at the spot in front of the sign. "Dig there. She's not deep."

David's head snapped away from the sheet to look at Max. "She?"

"Rachel Amber," Max said, bile rising in her throat as she swore that awful smell of rot invaded her nose. "Tell… tell him an anonymous tipster gave you the info. And that anonymous tipster also told you about the bunker. That should be enough for a warrant, right?"

"God damn it. Maybe," David said, staring at the spot Max circled on the paper. "You're sure about all this?"

"I absolutely am. One-hundred percent," Max replied. "If you have trouble getting a warrant, talk to James Amber. He's the DA. He might be in the Prescotts' pocket, too, but I don't think he'll let them get away with murdering his daughter." Max then flipped the page over and started sketching again. "Okay, in the barn the stairwell down to the bunker is hidden in the far corner and locked with a huge ass lock," she explained, pointing out the front door, tractor, and where the stairwell was. "Beyond that is a vault door." Max scribbled a few numbers at the top of the page. "The code is 5-4-2."

David continued to stare intently at the page. "You even know the passcode for the door? How?"

"It was in the stuff we took from Nathan," Max explained. "In the bunker… there's a computer and a printer. I'm not sure what all is on the computer, but behind the computer is a cabinet full of binders." Max breathed a ragged sigh in and out as she tried to keep an emotional distance. This was all too much. "I-I need a minute, okay?" Max walked away, hugging herself. Her stomach violently churning, it took everything in her to keep from vomiting right there. She just kept breathing deep breaths and swallowing the neverending saliva in her mouth.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she got herself together to start talking again, "Those binders are everything you need to put Jefferson and Nathan away for good." Max walked back over to the door, not daring to look over at David. "Now, go… go put an end to this, okay?"

"Yeah," David muttered. He grabbed the gun, locking it in a drawer, before snatching up the sheet Max made.

Max reached for the handle, her hand trembling. "And David? If you go in there with the police… I want you to look at the binder labeled 'Kate,' and I want you to think long and hard the next time you start accusing innocent people of fucked up shit."

"I know… I made a mistake with her," David relented, his head hung low as his shoulders drooped.

"You just don't know how bad," Max bit back, her voice quiet but laced with venom. "And stop spying on your own family, or I'm telling Joyce about the cameras." Her courage evaporating even as she said the words, Max turned the knob and retreated to the safety of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Such a boring and dry chapter with almost no sweetness between Max and Chloe. Still, it had to be done, and now that it is out of the way, the next chapter will be almost entirely the two of them... but it may not be much more pleasant.
> 
> Side note: today is not update day, but (in the US at least) today is a holiday. In celebration, I'm dropping a chapter of everything I have a chapter written for. So that's all three branches of Pale and a chapter of Perfect?. I am close with Asylum, so I'll try to drop that in later today if I can get it done and cleaned up in that time.


	12. Wait and Bleed

Chapter 12: Wait and Bleed

Chloe and Joyce waited for Max as she walked back in. Joyce sat next to Chloe, her hand rubbing Chloe's back as Chloe just sat, staring at her untouched plate. It took everything Max had just to face David and set into motion everything that needed to happen to put a stop to Jefferson before anyone else got hurt. Now, she felt like a death row inmate as she shuffled toward the table and the full plate sitting across from Chloe.

Head kept low, Max sat at her place. The courage to speak never manifested, leaving Max little else to do other than pick at her food. A suffocating silence set in. Though she dared not look up, Max knew full well that both Chloe and Joyce were staring at her, silently demanding to know the truth. The truth that would further wreck Chloe's world and send her on a murderous rampage.

"Max," Joyce finally spoke up, "what is all this about? You said that… that poor Rachel…"

"She's gone," Max said. This was exactly the conversation she'd been dreading. Chloe deserved to know. Joyce did, too. But if so much as a whisper got out about who was responsible, there would be no stopping Chloe from getting herself into another dangerous situation. Max couldn't let that happen.

The memory of the bullet tearing through Chloe's skull flashed through Max's mind.

She wouldn't let it happen. Not again.

Joyce reached across the table, putting her hand on Max's. "What happened to her?"

Max shook her head. "I… I want to say more, but things are really dangerous right now." Pulling back, Max withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry."

Chloe's hands slammed into the table, making both Max and Joyce jump. "The fuck, Max? You told me that you'd tell me everything!"

"And I will!" Max replied, looking down at her barely-touched plate. "Just… I can't right now. I promise Rachel will get justice soon. It's just too dangerous right now."

"Justice," Chloe repeated, her fists clenched tightly enough for her knuckles to turn white. "So she… she was murdered."

Max nodded, owning up to her slip. "Yes, by very dangerous and powerful people. I'll make sure they pay, Chloe. You trust me, right?"

"I do." Chloe slapped her hands on the table as she stood. "But apparently you don't fucking trust me."

"Chloe!" Max called out as Chloe stormed off. Pushing the chair away from the table, Max stood and started after Chloe. "Wait! I'm sorry!"

Chloe led Max upstairs and into her room. Knowing Max was after her, she sat at the edge of the bed and waited. As soon as Max closed the door behind her, Chloe started shouting, "The fuck, Max? I thought we were in this together?"

"We are, Chloe," Max replied. "I promise."

"The hell we are," Chloe retorted, getting to her feet. "From where I'm standing, you're just telling me shit when it's convenient for you. I deserve to know what happened to Rachel!" She stormed over to her desk and grabbed the stack of missing person fliers before throwing them at Max, sending a storm of loose paper that scattered well before it could hit Max. "I was the only one still looking for her! Fucking everyone, _everyone_ gave up on her! Her own goddamn parents stopped looking!"

"You're right," Max replied, her voice cracking as tears slipped free. She clumsily swept them from her cheeks with a hand. "You deserve to know more than anyone. You really do. And I promise I'll tell you everything just as soon as it's safe. But I…"

"But what, Max? Huh?" Chloe bit back. Righteous anger tore through her as she clenched her fists tight. "You can't trust me? Did you ever?"

Max shook her head as more tears slipped free. "That's not fair! I just… I've seen how this turns out, Chloe! And I can't! I can't watch you die again!"

That gave Chloe pause, but it couldn't stop the undercurrent of fiery rage pulling her along. "Don't you try to pull that precognizant bullshit on me! I don't care if you do know what's coming! I deserve to know, and there's no way that just knowing puts anyone in danger!"

Max didn't respond.

"So what the fuck is this, then? Huh, Max?" Chloe pressed, closing the distance between them. "Talk to me!" Chloe put a hand on Max's shoulder, and she jerked away, tumbling back and hitting the wall before collapsing in a heap.

_I barely touched her! The fuck?_

"Shit, Max?" Chloe bent down, and she saw that Max's eyes were unfocused and she was breathing deep, uneven breaths. She was having another episode. Clenching her jaw tight, Chloe tired to choke down her fury.

"Max? Max, can you hear me?" Chloe asked, making her voice as soft and motherly as she could manage. Max didn't even budge. It was like she didn't hear it at all. Chloe crouched down by her and tried to wrap her up in a hug. The instant her fingertips brushed against the smaller girl, she tried to twist away, burying herself in the corner.

Chloe clenched her fists, seeing Max curled up in the corner, rocking back forth. She was broken. In just a week, something, someone broke her. And Chloe couldn't do anything to help her. "Fuck!" she shouted. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Since Max wouldn't let her touch her, Chloe sat on her bed, watching Max's horrified expression as she seethed. That thing that did this to Max had to be the same one that killed Rachel. Chloe didn't give a shit if that had Max terrified. She wasn't afraid. She was pissed.

_I'll avenge you. Avenge Rachel. Just fucking talk to me, Max!_

Shooting to her feet, Chloe paced back and forth. She'd storm off to try to find her own answers, if not for the fact that she couldn't pry herself away from Max. She may not have been any use to her, but like hell would she ever abandon her. Max would snap out of it soon, right?

_What the fuck am I supposed to do?_

In the end, Chloe just sat down on the floor in front of Max. As much as she wanted to reach out to Max, Chloe just knew it would make shit worse again. The seconds ticked by like hours, and just as Chloe started to consider going to get her mom for help, Max started to calm down.

This time when Chloe reached out, Max latched on, practically launching herself into Chloe's arms. Chloe wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. "You scared the shit out of me," Chloe said, her voice quiet and calm.

"S-sorry," Max muttered, burying her face in Chloe's shoulder. "Sorry."

Chloe sighed, failing to will away her anger. "You're not gonna fucking tell me about Rachel, are you?"

"I will, Chloe. I promise," Max said, clutching Chloe tighter. "Please believe me that this is for the best. I hate not telling you and I hate that I'm hurting you. But… please…"

"Damn it, Max," Chloe growled. "I'll give you twenty-four hours. Not a minute more."

Max nodded. "I hope it doesn't take that long. It'll be more like half a day. I swear."

Chloe pulled back. "She'll get justice? Whoever the fuck k-killed her will pay?"

Following Chloe's lead, Max let go and looked up into Chloe's eyes. "Not the justice you're looking for," she said, giving a shake of her head. "No more bloodshed. No one else has to die."

"Like Rachel deserved to die?" Chloe bit back.

"No one deserves to die, Chloe," Max replied, her voice resolute. "Not Rachel, not your dad… not you."

Chloe shot to her feet, glaring down at Max. "What about the ones responsible for all that? Shouldn't they die? Pay for what they did?" She paced away from Max leaning over on her desk. "Do you know how many times I dreamed, I fucking fantasized about what I would do to that motherfucker that killed dad?"

Max dragged herself to her feet. "Do you even hear yourself? How will more pain and suffering wash away yours? Theirs?"

"You don't know how this feels! Their pain _will_ wash mine away!" Chloe barked back, turning around and leaning back on her desk.

"No," Max said, her gaze falling to her feet as she clenched her fists. "You're wrong."

"The hell I am!" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're wrong!" Max shouted, looking back up with tears running down her cheeks. "I watched him get executed! The same one who killed Rachel! Killed you! Killed Victoria and Nathan! I watched him die and I didn't feel better! It just felt so much worse!" Sobbing, she shook her head. "You're wrong."

Kicking herself again, Chloe walked back over to Max and opened her arms. Without a moment's hesitation, Max stepped right into Chloe's embrace. "You're not me, Max," Chloe whispered as she rubbed Max's back. "You're better than me. See, I'm just a petty bitch, and nothing would make me happier than to see that guy die. Painfully. Slowly."

"No," Max shook her head as she clutched Chloe tightly. "You've never seen someone tortured. Killed. It's awful. You'd hate it, too. I know you."

"You really think that?"

"I know it, Chloe… You… once, you killed Frank. Shot him," Max said, giving her head a little shake. "You hated his guts at the time, but you were _devastated_ at what you did! I-I had to rewind it."

"Fuck," Chloe muttered, turning around as she ran a hand through her still-damp hair. "Fuck!" A hasty gulp of air in and out did little to break the pressure crushing her chest. "How? When?" She spun back around to face Max. "Did this already happen or…?"

Max's head tilted a bit to the side before lowering. "T-tomorrow, actually." She looked back up, eyes burning with determination. "But that's not gonna happen this time!"

Chloe nodded, running a hand across her mouth. Then she swung that arm out toward Max. "You took the gun."

"That's not why I took it…" Max replied, holding her arm with a hand. "But, yeah."

Chloe sighed. Just when the shit starts to make sense, Max reveals the rabbit hole to be ever deeper and more convoluted. "Fine, Max. Whatever." Chloe sat back down onto her bed. "So, what do we do now?"

Max went over to the old desk in the corner, pulling free the cash we stole from Blackhell. It took her a minute to count out some amount, before taking the rest and stowing it in her camera bag. "We pay your debt and go get Kate. There's not much time before the storm hits."

Chloe stood. "Then why the fuck are we paying Frank? Let's just keep the dough. You said it yourself that the storm's gonna destroy everything anyway."

"I'm not going to let anyone die," Max said, her voice firm as she stared back at Chloe with an unwavering determination in her eyes. "Not if I can help it."

* * *

Max forced herself to shake away the eerie sense of familiarity as she and Chloe got out of her truck down by the beach. Frank's RV was in the same damn spot and everything. Though the whales hadn't started beaching themselves just yet. Those poor whales. There was nothing Max could do to spare their lives.

With a sigh, Max tried to force her thoughts back to the matter at hand. "Okay, so we pay Frank off, and we leave. Do not try to confront him, okay?"

"You got it, Boss Lady," Chloe replied, as she walked in step with Max, her hands in her pockets.

Things started down a very different path as they rounded the RV. There, Frank sat in his chair, with a beer in one hand, scratching Pompidou's head with the other. He frowned as soon as he saw us, and Pompidou started to growl. Chloe and Max froze, no daring to step closer.

Frank stood, stepping in front of Pompidou. "You got my money?"

Max reached into her bag, pulling out the envelope stuffed with three grand. "Here," she muttered, holding the envelope toward Frank.

He gave a little nod as his eyes fixated on the envelope. Reaching out, he took it from Max before counting out the bills inside. Once he finished, he looked up as he stuffed the whole thing in his pocket. "All right. We're square, Price." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Now, I don't ever want to see your faces again."

"Fucking suits us just fine," Chloe said, turning to leave.

Max stood firm. "Wait. I just…" Max went back into her bag. The moment she did, Frank pulled out his knife as Pompidou started growling. "Easy. I'm unarmed, I promise." Max slowly pulled her hand free, holding out several twenties toward Frank. "I want some Xanax, and weed for Chloe."

"No. Fucking. Way," Frank ground out as he slowly put the knife away. He then pointed at each girl in turn. "I'm done with the two of you. Especially you. You tried to fucking shoot me."

"Well, at least _I_ didn't," Max replied, sending a glance Chloe's way. Chloe held up her hands, staring back at Max with wide eyes. "Look, just hook us up and you'll never have to hear from us again if that's what you really want."

"Fuck you," Frank said, roughly slapping Max's handful of cash away.

Max put the money back into her bag. "Suit yourself." Holding out a hand, Max pulled on time. Instead of taking herself backward, she ground time to a halt, freezing everything in place. Though it didn't end up revealing any good information on how to stop the storm, practicing her abilities with Kate and Warren did at least teach Max a little more about how to control her power, even if it wasn't any stronger.

It only took her a couple of minutes to find a bottle of pills that looked just like the ones Frank gave her in the previous timeline. She also swiped one of the canning jars of marijuana for Chloe, stowing both in her bag. Returning to her previous spot, Max reversed time just a bit to find her phantom so she could reassume her pose. Time drifted back until just before phantom Max held out her hand, then Max fell into her doppelganger's position, feeling herself click in place like a magnet, before releasing time.

As far as the universe was concerned, nothing happened. "You had your chance, Frank." Max grabbed Chloe's hand, pulling her away. Once they had a good amount of distance between them and Frank, Max called back over her shoulder, "Don't come asking me for information when the shit with Rachel hits the fan, either!"

Her courage dissipated, she practically ran back to the truck with Chloe. Once she was safely in the truck and threw her seatbelt on, Max turned to find Chloe glaring back at her.

"The fuck was that last bit about Rachel?" Chloe demanded.

Max sighed, hugging herself as she looked away from Chloe. "He cared for her, you know." Sensing the conversation going south, Max dug out the bottle of Xanax from her bag. Her fingers plucked a single tablet free, bringing it to her lips for her to bite off a section.

"The fuck is that?"

"Xanax," Max simply replied as she replaced the bottle. "I gave Frank the opportunity to sell it to us. He declined, so…"

"Holy shit, Max. When did you…? How?"

Shaking her head, she dodged the question, "They help with the episodes." Then, Max pulled out the sealed jar of weed. "This helps you, too, right?"

"Is that what I think it is?" Chloe reached up, pulling the giant jar closer. "I can't believe you snagged this shit!" Too big to fit in the glovebox, Chloe set the jar down in the floorboards on Max's side. She smiled back at Max, sending her heart aflutter. "Dude, I kind of thought you were against my medicating."

Max shrank in on herself as she looked away. "We… we're wounded, Chloe. Until we can find a way to really let those wounds heal, we need… bandages." She sighed, daring to glance back at Chloe. "As long as we can throw them off when we don't need them anymore… I mean, we need them, right?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, Max," she muttered, her voice quiet and tired.

"Chloe," Max replied. She worried the zipper on her hoodie as she sighed. "There… there's some more I have to tell you. About Rachel."

Chloe closed her eyes and she gripped the wheel with a white-knuckled grasp. "H-hit me with it."

"Maybe, I mean…" Max's gaze fell toward the jar in the floor by her feet. "Would it be better if you 'medicated,' first?"

"Best fucking idea I've heard today." Leaning over, Chloe opened the glovebox. A few moments of rummaging around and Chloe exclaimed an "Ah-ha!" as she plucked free a half-used joint. Placing it in her lips, she lit it up and started the truck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More bad news for Chloe. Poor girl. Those last couple of days really were a treadmill of despair. 
> 
> I have some time off coming up. It is ambitious, but I will attempt to complete Pale in the next 10 days. I will very likely fail, but should I manage to push myself through, then I will update this story every week, and post either Once More or Evoker simultaneously until I have all the chapters up. Again, this is a very remote possibility, but if I pull it off, then it means more frequent updates for all three branches. 
> 
> As always, I appreciate all feedback.


	13. Life is Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late post. As a way of apology, I'll also be posting Asylum today as well as a couple of other treats!

By the time they arrived at the hospital, Chloe had finished her joint, smothering the roach in the truck's ashtray. A flick of the wrist and the truck's engine sputtered to stop as Chloe pulled the key free. She didn't even look over at Max, instead setting her gaze straight up as she leaned back. "Okay, Max. What bad news do you have for me this time?"

Max reached over, to place her hand on Chloe's. Like a trap on a hair-trigger, the moment Max's fingertip brushed Chloe's hand it snapped tightly around Max's fingers, desperately squeezing Max's flesh to milk out all the comfort she could. Max responded by wrapping her other hand around Chloe's and squeezing back. "Do you… remember our original plan for today?"

Chloe nodded before finally turning her gaze back over to Max. "Yeah. Raid David's shit, then find out we could from Frank."

"Things went to shit right from the start," Max replied before taking a deep breath and sighing. "Well, _you_ didn't think it did, but I felt like shit about it. We got into a fight with David, and Joyce took our side. She, uh, she kicked him out."

Chloe's eyes went wide as a huge smile spread over her face. "Dude, seriously? Mom kicked his ass to the curb?"

"He was being an ass, and… and it was a shitty situation all around. I'm not saying he's a great guy, but he makes Joyce happy, and, whether you believe it or not, he _does_ really care about you."

"What the fuck?" Chloe ripped her hand free. "Why are you defending him?"

"I told you, Chloe. He cares about you. That's not a guess or an opinion. It's a fact," Max replied. "But this isn't about David."

Chloe grabbed Max's shoulder, twisting her torso around to make Max face her. The glare she gave Max made her shrink in on herself. "Like hell, it's not. You're telling me we could've been rid of his ass, _for good_ , and you stopped that shit from happening?"

Max threw Chloe's angry hand off herself. "I'm telling you that I saved our lives by keeping us out of the worst shitstorm Arcadia Bay's ever seen!"

"I am so sick of this goddamn precognizant time travel bullshit! Why won't you tell me what the fuck is going on?" Chloe raged at her.

"This is bigger than us, Chloe! I know we like to think we're real adults, but we're not. We're a couple of fucking kids mixed up in some serious shit. There is a _serial killer_ out there and we cannot handle that on our own!" Max's shoulders heaved up and down as she panted. "We can't."

"Why not?" Chloe shot back. "You have fucking superpowers, and I _had_ a gun! We could literally take over the bay if we wanted."

"It didn't save us!" Max shot back. "You died and I…" She held up a hand, squeezing her finger and thumb as close to each other as she could. Her voice was low and quiet as she said, "I came this close to dying, Chloe." Wrapping her arms around herself, Max hugged herself tight. Her eyes squeezed shut, sending warm tears down her freckled cheeks. "I don't… I don't think I'll ever be the same again."

Chloe seethed, staring out the windshield as she held the wheel in a white-knuckled grasp. "All the more reason to find this asshole and make him suffer. For you. For Rachel!"

"Did you not just hear me? I am not going through that again." Max threw open the door. After stepping out, she turned back and leaned into the truck. "Chloe, if you can't let this go, just for a few fucking hours, then… then you can just go home and wait for me to finish everything on my own!" More tears fell from her eyes. "I won't lose you again! Why can't you understand that?"

Chloe stared back at Max as if she were dumbfounded by the fact that she had a backbone at all. An angry sigh and she sat back in the seat. Her fingers slipped her keys from her pocket. She worried them in her hand a long moment before she muttered a curse. Raising her hand, she threw the keys onto the dash before digging out her cigarettes. "The fuck are you waiting for? Go get Kate." Without giving Max so much as a glance, she lit the cigarette before leaning against her window.

* * *

All that mess. That whole argument and Max didn't even get to the part where Rachel was in some sort of relationship with Frank. Maybe it was best to wait. Wait until Chloe had some measure of closure about Rachel. If David was on it, he should have this whole thing done by tomorrow morning.

 _I hope_.

All Max could do was pray that things worked out somehow. That Chloe would be able to find some measure of solace. For now, she had to worry about the storm and making sure Chloe had a future to struggle through.

_With or without me._

Memories of the driving whirlwind crashed through her mind, nearly making her collapse on the spot. Was it some dark corner of her own psyche, pushing her to find a way out? A way to survive. It was only two days away, and Max still didn't have a plan on how to survive. Her power could weaken the storm, but even if she gave it her all, she couldn't stop it.

Here, standing in front of Kate's room, Max remembered how it felt the last time she pushed her power to its absolute limit. She could barely stand upright at that point. Doing that same thing, out on the docks in the path of the storm. Escaping wasn't an option. Not if she wanted to give her all to weaken the storm. If she gave it everything and people died… her conscience could bear that much. But if she held back, saved herself and people died. Max would never forgive herself if that happened.

With a sigh, Max turned the handle and stepped into Kate's room. As soon as she stepped inside, Max realized her folly. She didn't check in with Warren. Just which Kate was this?

"Max!" Kate rushed over, throwing her arms around Max. For a moment, Max found herself too stupefied to do anything before her instincts took control, returning the earnest hug. After a few lingering seconds, Kate released Max and pulled back. "I'm so happy to see you," she said as she stepped back.

Max reached for her elbow as she took measure of Kate, looking a lot like she remembered the girl being in the hospital the last go-round. "Me too," she replied, trying to figure out just which Kate this might have been. "Did, um, did Warren call you?"

Kate's smile faltered just a bit. "He did," she said, eyeing Max critically. "He… told me a lot of incredible, unbelievable things."

 _So, this is the original Kate, after all_.

"Kate, I'm so sorry," Max said, hanging her head. "I should've… I don't know, done more. I should've seen this coming. There were so many red flags about Jefferson and-and—"

Max's ramblings were cut short as Kate again wrapped her arms around Max. "It's okay. None of us could see through his evil shroud. But you were there to save me. I just knew there was something special about you, Max."

This time, Max didn't hesitate to lean in and return the embrace. "You don't have to worry," Max whispered. "I-If I did things right, he won't be able to hurt anyone else."

Kate moved her hands to Max's shoulders, pulling her back to arm's length before shaking her head. "I'm not scared, Max. Not with you here with me." She gave Max a sincere, warm smile. "You saved me."

"It feels like a lifetime ago," Max replied. The quizzical look on Kate's face made Max realize that she might've just said something ridiculous. "O-oh! Um, Warren did explain that this is like, two weeks ago for me, right?"

"Yes," Kate said, her hands sliding down from Max's shoulders until they found Max's hands. "He told me that we have to save Arcadia Bay from a terrible storm."

With her hands otherwise occupied, Max found herself forcibly exposed. She couldn't fidget and pull her eyes to whatever her hands were playing with. "I-I, uh, I mean… I'm kind of surprised you believed him so easily. It usually requires a demonstration or something."

"But you already gave me a demonstration, Max. When you saved me," Kate replied. Releasing her grasp on Max's hands, she retreated to her bedside chair and sat down. Tugging her pillow from the bed, she hugged it to her chest. "I remember… I was up on the ledge and everyone was just gawking at me. I just… I wanted it to stop. I wanted all of it to stop… forever." Looking up, Kate found Max's eyes. "Then, I saw you. The only person in the world that even seemed to care about me at all. That's when… I made the decision. I couldn't stand it for even one more moment."

Max stared back at Kate, her heart pounding in her chest. "Y-you were going to jump… because of me?"

Kate's head snapped up, her eyes wide. "No! Max, I meant… In that moment, that's how I felt. I was… My mind had already been made up before I saw you. But then, before the moment could even pass, you called out to me. I turned around, and there you were."

That made sense. Had anyone been paying attention to Max instead of Kate, they would've just seen her vanish only to reappear on the roof a moment later. "I couldn't… let you do that, Kate. I-I couldn't."

"I know, Max!" Kate said, tugging tightly at her pillow. "And I'm so grateful that you couldn't. You didn't. I wondered about it for a while, and I convinced myself that I was so distraught, that I just imagined you down on the lawn with everyone else. Until Warren called me…"

Max sat down by Kate. "I hope you don't hate me… I-I could've told you before, and I didn't."

"I could never hate you, Max!" Kate refuted with a vigorous shake of her head. "You're my guardian angel. You were there for me when no one else was, and that had nothing to do with your ability. That was all Max."

The very notion that Max could do something on her own, without her power ignited a swelling warmth in her chest that quickly found her face. "Th-thank you, Kate."

Kate leaned over, placing a hand on Max's knee. "I believe you were given this gift to save me. To save everyone! I can't think of anyone more worthy of such a miracle."

And just like that, the warmth gave way to an icy emptiness. Max didn't deserve her ability, or even this chance to save Chloe. Just being here, she was putting a thousand lives at risk of death and ruination. "I'm not, though," Max muttered, not daring to speak the horrible truth.

_It should've been Kate. She wouldn't selfishly put everyone in danger. She would've made the right decision._

"W-we have to get started if we want to get everyone safe. Did Warren tell you about our plans?" Max asked, pivoting the conversation away from her conceited selfishness.

"He said you could jump back into photos in an emergency, that we had to evacuate everyone we could, and that your power could weaken the storm," Kate said.

"Right, and we only have two days to get everyone out that we can. Do you have anything you can change into?" Max asked.

Kate nodded as she threw the pillow back onto the bed. "A bit of privacy?"

Max moved back out into the hall. There, she found the seat where Chloe waited for her last time. That Chloe seemed so much easier to talk to. Max sighed as she sat down. That Chloe still had hope that Rachel might be okay. That Chloe didn't know that Max was keeping secrets from her. Max would have to come clean as soon as Jefferson and Nathan were out of the picture. Just lay it all out for Chloe.

All except for Plan A.

To keep Chloe safe and out of harm's way, Max would have to take that to her early grave.

The sound of the door handle snapped Max from her reverie. Kate stepped out, dressed in the same outfit she wore out on the ledge. As soon as she did, the nurse leaned out of her station. "Ms. Marsh. You know that you are not permitted to leave the room unattended. If you need anything please use the nurse call button."

Max grabbed Kate's hand. "Trust me," Max said as she launched herself out of the chair and down the hallway, straight toward the nurse's station.

The nurse, seeing the duo bolt, rushed over and into the hallway, blocking their path forward. Just before they reached her, Max stopped, holding out her right hand and looking back at Kate. The world twisted, and everything started backward. Phantasmal Max and Kate rushed back toward the room and the nurse reversed herself into the station. Once Kate and then Max disappeared into the room, Max released time.

"What?" The nurse muttered, looking up to see the duo right in front of her station. "Ms. Marsh!"

"Let's go!" Max again dragged Kate behind her and down the hall. After a dozen paces or so, Max stopped again and rewound until their phantom selves disappeared again. They'd now made it by the station without being spotted. Max held her head as she started again for the elevator. "I can only go so far back, so we need to get out of here as quickly as possible, okay?"

The two women took the elevator down, and darted out of the hospital without a single other incident, though Max insisted on rewinding the two of them once they were clear of the building. She went back as far as she could, just in case there were cameras. There was no telling how far back the rewind went, but Max knew it couldn't have been more than a few minutes at most.

"Max, that was incredible," Kate said breathlessly as Max led her to Chloe's truck. "You really do that sort of thing all the time?"

"I do, now," Max replied. Feeling a familiar sensation in her nose, Max fished a tissue from her bag and held it to her nose. A headache and a nosebleed were a small price to pay for them to finally get Plan B underway. "Just don't rely on it, okay? It's failed me before. More than once."

Kate nodded. "Got it."

"Oh, and Kate, I don't know how much Warren told you, but please don't mention anything about Jefferson or Nathan or Rachel to Chloe. I need to be the one to tell her and… and it's just too dangerous right now, okay?" Max asked as the truck came into view, its blue-haired owner sitting restlessly behind the wheel.

Kate looked over at Max, eyes wide. "You… haven't told her?"

"I… She knows the storm is coming and that Rachel is dead. But believe me when I say she cannot know more than that right now. For her own good."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Kate asked, stopping just a few feet from the truck.

"It's an awful idea, and I can't tell you how much I hate it," Max replied, sending worried glances back over at Chloe. "But I won't risk her getting hurt or worse. So until those two are taken care of… Please, Kate."

Kate sighed before nodding. "Okay, Max. It's kind of hard to argue with someone who literally knows the future."

"Not anymore," Max replied as they made it to the truck and opened the door for her. "I've changed so much already… I can only guess about the future. I do know the storm is coming, though."

Kate climbed in, scooting over to the middle of the seat. Turning to Chloe, she offered a sweet smile. "And you must be Chloe. I think I've seen you around Blackwell before."

"Yeah," Chloe muttered, her voice straining to stay even. "Kate, right? Sorry about the shit that happened to you."

Kate's smile faltered. "Oh, um, thank you?" Without another word, Chloe snatched her keys from her dash and started the truck. Leaning forward, Kate tried to take measure of Chloe's expression. "Are you okay?"

Chloe kept her mouth shut, so Max answered for her, "Chloe's still really torn up about Rachel."

"No, I'm fucking pissed that you won't tell me shit until it's convenient for you, Max!" Chloe shot back.

"That's not true! I'm just trying to keep you safe!"

"Maybe I don't want to be safe!" Chloe retorted. "It's not like you can't just fucking rewind any bad shit that comes up, anyway! I'd rather just… fucking know, Max."

Kate looked between Max and Chloe. She finally settled her attention on Chloe. Reaching out, she placed a hand on Chloe's arm and gave it a squeeze. "I… I don't really know you, but I know Max. And if what I've been told is true, then you know her even more than I do. In your heart, you have to know that Max would never want to hurt you."

"Maybe not, but it's not like that's stopped her before," Chloe retorted, shrugging Kate's hand off.

"Hey! You need to lose that attitude, little missy!" Kate snapped back, earning her a wide-eyed, bewildered look from Chloe. "I don't care what Max did or didn't do. What she's been through—the sacrifices she made _just for you_ —she doesn't deserve you treating her like this. You're lashing out like-like a spoiled little child!"

Max was sure that Chloe would latch onto the new, low-hanging fruit to take her anger out on. But no. Chloe just muttered, "Whatever."

Could it be because Chloe knew Kate was bullied to the point of suicide? She might've been feeling guilty about giving Max hell over taking her call the other day—a call that may well have been the difference between life and death for Kate.

The truck came to a stop at the exit of the hospital parking lot. Chloe spoke up again, this time her voice tired and even, "Where are we going?"

"B-Blackwell," Max stuttered out, fearing another outburst from Chloe. "We need to meet up with Warren to initiate Plan B."

Chloe's jaw sawed from side to side as she pulled out, more than a little too quickly. "Bet you won't tell me shit about that, either," she accused, her voice as icy as the glare she sent Max.

"The storm is coming," Max replied. "We can't get everyone out of Arcadia Bay, but we still have to try to get as many people out as possible. That's Plan B." Retrieving William's old Polaroid from her bag, Max took a selfie. "And Plan C is making sure there are plenty of opportunities for me to jump back when I fuck everything up again." Max leaned into Kate, taking another photo, handing it over to Kate. With that selfie safe with Kate, Max turned to Chloe. "Do you want to take a selfie with me?"

Chloe just held out her fist across Kate before flipping me off. "Hey! Max is trying to be nice!" Kate chided, shoving Chloe's arm away.

"It's okay, Kate," I said, even though it really wasn't. "And, uh, maybe you should call the hospital and your parents? They're gonna totally flip when they find out you're gone."

Kate gave Chloe one last glance before pulling out her cell. "I hope I'm not in too much trouble for this."

"Hey," Max said, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder, "you're helping to save lives here. I don't think they can be too upset with you."

Kate smiled. "Right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang's back together, more or less. And now they can finally start putting the plans into play.


	14. No More

When we got to Blackwell, we took the long way around the building, neither Kate nor I wanted to be anywhere near the main building. We found Warren waiting for us by our main objective for Plan B: the football field.

"Oh, man. You really had me starting to worry there," Warren said as we approached. "We are really running out of time here. Classes will let out for lunch in an hour."

"Is the coast clear, at least?" I asked as I approached.

Warren nodded. "Didn't see a soul."

"Someone want to tell why the fuck we're here?" Chloe asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Or is this more shit that you can't tell your supposed best friend?"

Max breathed a long breath in, letting it out slowly through her nose. "This is the cornerstone of Plan B. Warren's idea," she said as the group walked over to the storage shed by the field. "The storm hits Friday. The same day as the big game between the Bigfoots and the Razorbacks."

"Who cares about a stupid high-school football game?" Chloe retorted.

"A lot of people care," Warren replied as he pushed open the doors to the shed. "Thing is, it's a home game, and that'll put even people from outside the bay in danger."

"But, if we wreck the field so that the game can't be played here…"

Chloe scoffed. "So that's the big plan? Make sure more people don't come to Shithole, USA?"

"No, Chloe. If they can't play here, they'll make it an away game at the Razorbacks' field. Half the school and a lot of the people in Arcadia Bay would leave to go to the game," Max said. She sent Chloe a disbelieving look. "Besides, do you really even need a reason to wreck the field?"

That got a smile out of Chloe. "You know me too well, Caulfield." Chloe turned her attention to an assortment of tools hanging on the wall. "Can we really do all that much in an hour, though?"

Warren chuckled at that, pulling away a cover to reveal the tractor they used to maintain the field. "I'm thinking… yes," he said, emphasizing the last word by patting the machine's hood.

"Dibs!" Chloe shouted, racing by Warren and taking the seat.

"Wait, we're going to vandalize the football field?" Kate asked. "Are you really sure this is the right thing to do?"

"We'll do a lot less damage than the storm. Not to mention this is the single most effective way of getting people out of harm's way that we could think of," Max explained. "And you don't have to participate with Chloe and Warren if you don't feel comfortable. You can help me keep watch to make sure no one catches us."

To that, Kate agreed. She joined Max, sitting high on the bleachers to keep an eye out for anyone that might approach. Meanwhile, Chloe and Warren set up the tractor, hooking up a thing Max couldn't identify to the back. Whatever it was, it dug deep into the ground, leaving an upheaved ditch behind the tractor everywhere it went. The two of them coordinated, ripping a winding path through the field.

The football field was a pretty big place. Especially when one considered the bleachers and everything else. Still, compared to the tornado, the whole of the school grounds represented a mere fraction of the volume Max would have to manipulate with her power. Reaching out both of her hands, Max grasped time as she focused her attention on the whole of the field. As time drifted backward, Max found it hard to tell if anything happened at all. No frame of reference existed to actually show her time going backward for the universe with everything in her vision unaffected. The pressure in her head built quickly, though. When she released her power, she had to grab her head as pain overwhelmed all other thoughts and sensations.

"Max? Are you okay?" Kate asked, placing a hand on Max's back.

"Y-yeah," Max muttered, still wincing at the lancing pain in her skull. "Just practicing my power a little."

Kate started rubbing Max's back in little, comforting circles. "Don't push yourself too hard. We're counting on you if someone comes."

"Right," Max replied. Though, try as she might, she couldn't help but keep worrying about the storm. Now that they were actually working on Plan B, it suddenly seemed a lot more real. Just two days and she would have to face the storm alone. She couldn't reach far, and even dragging something the size of the football field proved to be a herculean effort. What would be better? Bigger chunks that drained her faster than smaller ones? And just how far back would she need to bring them? A few seconds would be much easier than a couple of minutes, but would that be enough to really weaken the tornado?

Max reached into her bag, bringing a tissue to her nose as the familiar tickle told her that it started bleeding again. "I think I need to have another discussion with Warren to really figure out the best way to go about Plan A."

"Um, we really didn't get into a lot of details when Warren called. Just what is Plan A?"

Max hunched over herself just a bit more. "Plan A is… me," she said, weighing out just how much she should tell Kate. "My power might be able to weaken the tornado."

Leaning forward to keep herself level with Max, Kate asked, "Might?"

"Okay, it can definitely weaken it. I'm just… not sure how much," Max replied.

Kate's hand left Max's back. "Oh, no! Max!"

Alarmed at the sudden change in Kate's demeanor, Max looked up to find Kate standing and pointing. Max rose, herself, and her eyes caught sight of flashing blue lights. "Shit! Were there cameras?" Whipping out her phone, Max called Chloe.

After getting a warning from Max, Chloe abandoned tractor with Warren, leaving the machine to slog toward the far bleachers. It collided with them, before tipping over and sputtering out. Her work complete, Chloe beat a hasty retreat.

They regrouped near the back of the gym building as Chloe and Warren rushed to catch up with Max and Kate. "Okay, just how fucked are we?"

Max shook her head. "Not sure, but I've got Plan C, just in case." She held up her selfie for emphasis.

The group snuck around the building, creeping toward the main yard. When they got there, they found a half-dozen police cars parked out on the street in front of the building. A couple of cops stayed by the flashing parade, directing traffic around the cruisers. The rest of them couldn't be found. And they certainly hadn't headed for the vandalized field.

"Should we get back to the truck and get the fuck out of here?" Chloe asked, pointing over at the parking lot.

"N-no… I don't think they're here for us. I hope—"

The double doors both burst open as a couple of officers held them open. Then out stepped two men in handcuffs, corralled by no less than four other cops.

Kate was the first to break the silence, both hands clasped over her chest. "Oh, thank the Lord! Max, was this your doing?"

Max just nodded, her eyes transfixed on the scene before her. It was a repeat of a scene she'd created before in more than one timeline. But never had she gotten the opportunity to personally witness the downfall of Nathan and Jefferson. For his part, Jefferson looked pissed, while Nathan kept shifting between disbelief, anger, and Max swore that some part of him looked relieved. Maybe now he would get the help he needed.

"Damn, Max. Not sure how you did it so fast, but I can't say I'm not relieved that shit's over," Warren said.

An audible growl left Chloe's throat. "I'm as happy as the next person to see that fucker Nathan in handcuffs, but how is it that I'm the only one who doesn't have a damn clue what's going on here?"

Max reached again into her bag. This time she retrieved a Xanax and bit off a section. "I can tell you everything, now, Chloe." She pointed over at the police loading the men into the cruisers. "This… is Rachel getting justice."

* * *

Chloe went through the gamut of emotions, spending most of the group's trip to the dorms yelling about one thing or another. Though, thankfully, she fell relatively silent once they got in the building. "Kate, would you and Warren mind waiting out here for a bit? Oh! And I have something for you, Kate. Just a minute." Max disappeared into her room for a minute before reappearing with a large cage in her arms. "Someone missed you," she said, smiling over at Kate.

"Oh! Alice!" Kate said, gleefully taking the cage. "Were you good for Max while Mommy was away?"

"Uh, why don't we get you two settled in?" Warren offered, ushering Kate toward the room still taped off. "I think Max and Chloe might need some alone time."

Max grabbed Chloe's hand. "Come on," she softly said, pulling Chloe into her room. As soon as they were safely inside the room, Max started to undress. "I, uh, I think I'll be more comfortable in my own clothes if you don't mind."

"Whatever," Chloe said, turning her attention to Max's photo collage.

"No more secrets. Ask whatever you want," Max said.

Chloe breathed a long sigh in and out. "How? How did Rachel… What did they do to her?"

"She was overdosed," Max replied. "Nathan did the deed, but this whole fucking nightmare is ultimately Jefferson's fault. He twisted and used Nathan for his own sick fetishes."

Chloe turned back, tears slipping free as her voice cracked. "Di-did she suffer?"

Dressed in only her jeans and bra, Max turned around. Just seeing Chloe like that broke her heart. She couldn't lie to her. Not now. Her own tears slipped free as she gave her head a little shake. "She did, Chloe. So much…"

An anguished cry left Chloe as she lurched forward, latching onto Max. "Why! What did Rachel ever do to deserve this, Max?"

"She didn't deserve it, Chloe," Max replied, holding Chloe tight and trying her hardest to keep from breaking down and crying, too. "None of us did."

Max let Chloe drag her over to the bed. They sat on the edge, with Max holding Chloe as she grieved Rachel's loss for the second time that day. It took Chloe a few minutes and a lot of soft words from Max to calm down enough to formulate her next question. "M-Max, what did you mean, 'none of us?'"

"Chloe… except for the storm, all the bad shit that's been going on—Kate, Rachel… fuck, even the shit Nathan put you through—that's all Jefferson! He caused all of it!" Max pulled away, keeping one hand on Chloe's back while she tried to clean up her face with the other. "He hurt everyone."

Chloe got up, moving over to the couch, gathering up Rachel's clothes that I shed and left there in a neatly-folded pile. She hugged them to her chest before curling up into a ball there on the couch. Deciding it best to give Chloe some space, Max went back to finish getting dressed, putting on a graphic tee and a hoodie.

With her outfit complete, Max wandered back to her bed. For the longest time, she just sat there, watching Chloe clutch Rachel's belongings to her breast as she softly cried. She waited, her arms ready to comfort Chloe should she need them, but Chloe didn't leave the couch. Only after the sniffling started to fall into silence did Max dare to speak up. "Chloe… there's a lot more to tell, but… but there are some things I should say to you before we let Warren and Kate in. For your ears only."

"Even more fucked up shit? Like this wasn't enough already?" Chloe replied, shaking her head.

"I don't have to tell you now," Max said, shifting a bit as she looked anywhere but the sea of pain and regret that was Chloe's face. "It… it's going to hurt, and I totally understand if you want to be in a better headspace or whatever before—"

"No more secrets," Chloe cut Max off, a hard edge to her voice. "No more."

Max nodded. "Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about all the delays. With any luck, I should be able to maintain a chapter of this OR Asylum weekly. This marks just a few chapters before the climax. I can't imagine this story will have more than 20 chapters in all. Though Evoker and OMWF still have a lot of story to tell.


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